Safe & Sound
by tigerlilyweasley
Summary: When Lennon moved to Beacon Hills, she thought the small town would be a lot safer than the city Los Angeles. Through an interesting course of sometimes dangerous events, Lennon finds out her new friends have been keeping something major from her, and that includes her more-than-friend Isaac. When she finds out, will she find the strength to stay with her friends to the very end?
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1

Lennon sighed, wrapping her arms around herself, trying to keep warm in the cold northern California night. Going for a walk at dusk in a new town was the worst idea Lennon had ever had, ever. Now Lennon was freezing, lost, and slightly terrified. She thought moving from the city to a small town would be simple, but she guessed wrong. Breathing out, Lennon watched her breath evaporate before her, and spotted lights up ahead. Picking up her pace, she got closer, her only thoughts on finding a way back to her house.

As Lennon got closer to the lights, she realized she was walking into a cemetery, and the lights were coming from a large digging machine. A young man was operating it, and she stopped, watching him for a moment, debating on if she should ask him for directions. On one hand, he probably knew the town and could give her directions back home. On the other, he's working a giant machine and digging a grave, and could kill her and make it look like an accident. Sucking in a deep breath, Lennon walked over to him, keeping a wary gaze on the crane.

"Excuse me!" she tried raising my voice above the noise of the machine. "E-Excuse me!" he seemed to not hear her, and Lennon unfolded her arms, raising them in the air and waving them a bit. "Excuse me!" Still nothing. Sighing, she looked around, and noticed a few pebbles in some overturned dirt. Picking them up, she aimed one and threw, watching it tick against the glass. It took two more pebbles before the guy finally noticed, stopping the machine and taking out his earphones.

"I'm sorry, normally I don't resort to these tactics, but I've been trying to get your attention for the past fifteen minutes." Lennon apologized. The young man just stared at her. "Um, I'm sort of new in town, and I wandered too far from the homestead, and I was wondering if you could give me some directions?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure." he nodded, leaning down from his seat in digger.

"My house is on Oak Burn Street and I have no idea where I am or what roads I took to get here." Lennon chuckled nervously. She looked up at the boy and he nodded, thinking.

"You're actually not that far. You've just gone around in a figure eight." he answered. "You're going to want to cut through that little path, and you'll come out onto Truman Road, then turn right, follow that for a few blocks, and you'll be on Oak Burn."

"Thanks so much." she smiled. "I'm Lennon." she saw the corner of his lips turn up into a small smile.

"I'm Isaac." he replied. They stood there for a few moments before he realized something. "It's going to be dark on the trail, so take this." he reached back behind him and brought out a flashlight, tossing it to her. Lennon clumsily caught it, almost losing her balance and falling into the wheels.

"Are you sure? Don't you need it?"

"Nah, these lights are pretty bright." He smiled, tapping the side of the door. He went on to speak again, but was cut off but a shout.

"Isaac!" a man's voice called. "What the hell are you doing? You're here to work, not sit on your ass!" Lennon peeked around the digger and saw an older man storming towards them. He moved behind the machine and stopped when he saw her. "Well what do we have here?"

"S-Sh-She. . ." Isaac stuttered. Lennon looked between the two of them, the tension was almost palpable.

"I'm sorry, sir. I'm new in town, and I just asked him for directions. I was just about to go." She cut in. The older man's eyes raked over her, and Lennon crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm sorry for holding him up."

"Oh it's okay." he smiled, and she couldn't tell if it was the cold or the smile that had a chill running down her spine. "Do you still need the directions? Isaac probably gave you the wrong ones."

"No, Isaac was very helpful." Lennon answered, a slight defensive tone in my voice. She turned and faced Isaac, giving him a smile. "Thank you for your help. Good night, Isaac." and with that, Lennon marched off in the direction Isaac had pointed earlier, turning the flashlight on as she walked out onto the path. The trees rustled in the wind, and she was elated to reach the sidewalk of Truman Road. Lennon turned right, like Isaac had instructed and walked along, the flashlight off and gripped tightly in her hand. Finally, she had made her way to Oak Burn, and squinted in the darkness, seeing the family's cars in the driveway.

"Hey, I'm back." Lennon called out as she entered the house, basking in the warmth of the heating vent near the door. "Got a little turned around, but I got some help." she set the flashlight on the table and moved past boxes, making her way towards the living room. She heard voices, and furrowed her brow, not recognizing the deep voice her step-father had replied to.

"Oh honey, you're back!" Lennon's mother chirped when she noticed her. "Sweetheart this is our neighbor, Sheriff Stilinski. Sheriff, this is our daughter, Lennon."

"Hello." the sheriff stood up, moving towards Lennon with his hand out. She met him halfway and shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"You as well." she gave him a smile, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "Well, I feel safer knowing there's a cop next door."

"Glad I could help already." he smiled.

"Lennon, why don't you go upstairs and meet his son? He's in with Jude." Kevin told her. Lennon nodded and turned, heading up the stairs as Mr. Stilinski sat back down on the couch, and went to the door her seven year old brother Jude had marked off as his.

_'Great, another little kid to put up with.'_ Lennon thought to herself.

"Jude, open up." she said, rapping her knuckles on the door. She could hear voices on the television, and the sound of her brother moving to the door. "Hey punk." Lennon reached over and ruffled his hair, walking into his bedroom, and quirking her eyebrow. The sheriff's son was not a seven year old, like she had thought, but a teenage boy. Though with the way he regarded the cartoon on the television, she wouldn't have been surprised.

"Lennon, this is Stiles." Jude pointed to the teenage boy sitting on the messily made bed. "Hey Stiles, this is my sister." Stiles glanced up, then did a double take, standing up and running a hand over his short, fuzzy looking hair.

"Hey, how's it going?" Lennon asked, smirking. Stiles let out a row of unintelligible noises before getting a grip on himself.

"I'm-I'm good, how are you?"

"I'm great." she answered, holding back a laugh. She redirected her attention to her brother as he sat back down on the bed. "So what've you guys been up to?"

"Watching TV, hanging out." Jude said as Stiles plopped down on the bed again. Lennon stood standing by the dresser, straightening out his soccer trophies.

"I can see that." she mused. She moved and sat next to her brother, turning her focus on the television. The three of them sat there, watching the cartoon sponge run around and cause trouble in silence, only the occasional chuckles breaking it.

"Hey, I hate to interrupt," the three of them turned their heads to the door, where the sheriff stood. "Stiles, we've got to get home. We've got an early morning tomorrow."

"Yeah," Stiles stood up as his father moved to go back downstairs, and held out his fist, and Jude reached his out, bumping them together. "See ya dude."

"Bye Stiles."

"It was nice meeting you Lennon." Stiles smiled.

"You too." Stiles made it to the doorway before turning back around.

"Do you want a ride in the morning? To school?" he asked, looking directly at Lennon. She smiled and nodded.

"I'd like that, thanks." Stiles grinned and left, and Lennon stood up. "They seem nice." she said, glancing at Jude. He nodded.

"Stiles is cool. He was telling me about lacrosse." Jude informed her. "I wanna go to the game tomorrow night!"

"Ask mom and Kevin, maybe they'll take you." Lennon shrugged.

"You don't want to go?" she shook her head.

"Nah, I wanna get unpacked before I get too bogged down with school work." Lennon moved to the doorway. "You should start getting ready for bed. Mom's going to take you to school in the morning."

"'Kay, night Lennon."

"Night Jude." Lennon shut his door behind her and walked down the hall to her own bedroom. Flipping on the light switch, she moved to her bed and grabbed her shirt by the hem, lifting it over her head and tossing it into her wicker hamper. Turning, she glanced out the window, only to see Stiles, standing in his window, staring at her. The teens continued to stare at each other for a few seconds before Stiles ducked down and out of sight. Lennon covered her chest and walked over to the window, pulling the cord on the blinds and the sheer curtains together. Sighing, and giving herself a moment to let the embarrassment fade, and finished changing into her bed clothes.

Turning off her light, Lennon crawled into her brand new queen bed and pulled the quilt up to her chin hearing the wind howl outside her window. She yawned and rolled over onto her stomach, settling in for her first night in Beacon Hills.

* * *

_so, my last Teen Wolf story wasn't what I wanted it to be so I deleted it. Then I got this idea and decided to run with it. So yeah._

_tell me what you think!_


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2

Lennon awoke early the next morning, making sure she gave herself enough time to get ready. After showering and rolling her hair in large curlers, she set on her makeup. Once that was finished, she went to her closet, thankful she had sense enough to hang up her clothes before she went for that walk last night. Picking out a black navy dress with white polka dots, and laid it on her bed, before going to her dresser and pulling out sheer navy tights. After getting dressed, she went back to her vanity, unrolling the curlers and smiling as her hair fell and bounced down her back in loose curls.

"Lennon! Stiles is waiting!" Kevin called from the bottom of the stairs.

"I'll be right down!" Lennon replied, pulling on her tan suede ankle boots, leaning down and tying them tightly. Grabbing her bag, she pulled it onto her shoulder and left her bedroom, ruffling Jude's hair as she passed him in the hallway.

"Hey Stiles!" Lennon greeted the boy. He gave her a small smile, keeping his eyes trained on her face. "I'm ready if you are."

"Here's a granola bar, since you skipped breakfast." Kevin handed her a small green foil wrapped package.

"Thanks Kev." Lennon smiled. "See ya later." Stiles held the door open for Lennon, then ran ahead of her to get the passenger side door. Once they were both situated in the vehicle, Stiles backed out of the driveway.

"You know you didn't have to pull into our drive." Lennon said, watching the road ahead of them.

"Yeah, well I thought it'd be nice of me not to make you walk that far."

"A whole six feet." Lennon chuckled. "Well thank you."

"No problem." Stiles gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter. "A-About last night-"

"Stiles, it's fine." Lennon shook her head. "You saw me in my bra. It could've been a lot worse."

"I just wanted to apologize for staring." he explained.

"I'll take it as a a compliment, but let's not both make habits of what happened, 'kay?" she replied, giving him a smile. Stiles nodded. "Good. Now, split this with me." Lennon unwrapped the crunchy granola bars and gave Stiles one, biting into the other. They chewed silently as Lennon watched the houses pass by.

"Welcome to Beacon Hills." Stiles looked over at her once they pulled into the parking lot. He found a parking space and turned off his car. "I'll take you to the office, and then I've got to go meet up with some people, but I'm sure I'll see you before lunch."

"Okay. Thanks Stiles." he kept true to his promise and walked you to the office, then departed, quickly following a strawberry-blonde girl down the hallway. Lennon walked through the doorway and stood in front of the desk.

"Can I help you?" a woman with spiky red hair asked. She had strong, almost fierce features, but bright eyes and a warm smile directed at Lennon.

"Hi, Mrs. Argent," Lennon read the nameplate on the desk. "I'm Lennon McIntyre, it's my first day." she replied, giving a small smile back to the woman.

"Oh yes! If you'll just have a seat over there, I'll print out your schedule and a map of the school for you." Lennon nodded and sat down in one of the chairs on the far side of the room as Mrs. Argent dialed her phone, looking up at the bulletin board, studying the pictures of sports teams and newspaper clippings featuring the school.

"Here you are, Lennon." the woman handed the girl her schedule and map as a tall, dark haired girl came in. "Ah, this is my daughter Allison. Allison, this is our new student Lennon McIntyre. I thought you'd be perfect to show her around, as it wasn't too long ago you were the new student."

"It's nice to meet you, Lennon." Allison smiled. They said goodbye to Mrs. Argent and walked back into the hallways.

"You too."

"So where did you move from?"

"L.A.. Well, just outside of LA.," Lennon said. "My mom was a casting director, but she's a novelist now."

"What does your dad do?" Allison asked, waving at some people as they walked down the hall.

"He's back in L.A.. He's a producer for movies and TV." Lennon shrugged like it was no big deal. "My parent's are divorced, so."

"Oh, that's cool." Allison said, instantly blushing. "Not the divorce, but your parents' jobs. Did you get to meet celebrities when you were a kid?"

"Um, a few." Lennon smiled. "None that I cared about, at the time. He'd bring home Tom Hanks for dinner when I hoped it would be the Backstreet Boys." the girls shared a laugh, stopping by a row of lockers. Allison turned the dial on one and opened the locker, putting her bag into it and taking out a binder and textbook.

"Let me see your schedule," Lennon handed over the paper. "Oh cool, we've got homeroom and French together. And you have chemistry with all of us as well."

"All of us?" Lennon asked.

"Oh! Right sorry, all of us meaning my friends and I." Allison explained. "You'll like them. They're all really nice."

"Cool. I can't wait." Lennon smiled as Allison shut her locker. They began walking towards homeroom, continuing their conversation. After class, Allison showed Lennon where her locker was, and her English class, then going off to her math class.

Walking in to the classroom, Lennon went to the teacher at the desk, handing him her transfer note and introducing herself. After he gave her an old syllabus and textbook, he told her to pick a seat, going back to his last-minute grading. Lennon turned and glanced around the room, seeing the seats fill quick. She spotted an empty one next to a boy with slightly curly, ash blonde hair. A switch flipped in her brain and she smiled, walking over and sitting down, setting her notebook on the desk.

"Hi," she said, making the boy look up from his book. "Isaac, right?"

"Uh yeah?" he confirmed, studying her with wide blue eyes. Lennon smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"We met last night. I'm Lennon? From the graveyard?"

"I remember." Isaac murmured, his gaze back down at the book on his desk. Lennon nodded.

"I didn't think you were a high school student. You looked older." Isaac just shrugged and toyed with the yellowing pages of the book. "I'm sorry, am I being overly-friendly? I do that, meeting new people sometimes."

"N-No, you're fine." Isaac gave her a tight smile. "I'm just-I'm not the person you want to talk to." Lennon furrowed her brow.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I'm not exactly the top of the social hierarchy here." his eyes flickered up to hers quickly, then back to the desk. "You don't want to start off on the wrong foot, do you?"

"If people are going to decide they don't like me based on my kindness to others then that's their problem." Lennon replied, not batting an eye at Isaac's warning. His face broke out in a genuine smile as the teacher started class. Lennon leaned over and grabbed a pen from her bag, turning her textbook to the page the instructor asked. The rest of the morning went by in a blur. After class, she parted ways with Isaac and found her locker again, putting away her book and went to her third class, where she met Allison again for French. Once Lennon struggled through introducing herself in a foreign language, they headed off to lunch.

"You'll like everyone." Allison assured Lennon as they paid for their purchases. "Especially Stiles. Occasionally, he's an annoyance, but he's pretty funny."

"Oh, I know Stiles." Lennon informed her. "He's my next door neighbor."

The girls moved away from the line and Allison looked around the cafeteria, then motioned for Lennon to follow her. They sat down at a table occupied with two other teens. One Lennon recognized as the strawberry blonde from earlier that Stiles had chased after. The other was a very handsome young man, with a jawline so sharp it could cut glass. Allison pulled out a chair next to the girl and Lennon move around the table, taking the one across.

"Guys, this is Lennon, she's new." Allison smiled. "Lennon, this is Lydia and Jackson."

"It's nice to meet you guys." Lennon gave them a smile as Jackson gave her a once over and Lydia's eyes studied her. The redhead broke out into a smile.

"Lennon?" Jackson asked.

"Yeah. As in the Beatle, not the Russian politician."

"Love that outfit. It's like city gone small town." Lydia smiled.

"Thanks." Lennon grinned as the chair next to her was pulled out. She aimed her grin to Stiles as he sat next to her, and another boy across from him, next to Allison. "Hey Stiles."

"Hey neighbor." Stiles greeted. "How's your day?" Lennon went to answer, but was cut off by Jackson.

"Please tell me you're not friends with these idiots already?" he glared at them before shifting his eyes to her.

"I live next door to Stiles. . ." Lennon said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I live across the street from Loser Lahey, that doesn't mean I take him out for ice cream." Jackson replied.

"Oh god, don't tell me this school is one of those straight from the movies, clique-riddled school." Lennon sighed.

"Isn't every high school?" Jackson asked, seeing her bored sigh as a challenge.

"No, because most people grow up after the fourth grade," Lennon smiled sweetly. "And they realize high school is hard enough without a caste system." she could just see the steam pouring from Jackson's ears as everyone at the table tried to hide and fight their smiles.

"So, do you like lacrosse?" the boy next to Allison asked.

"I don't know, strange boy I haven't met yet." Lennon answered.

"Oh, this is Scott." Stiles introduced them. "Scott this is Lennon."

"Hey." they smiled at each other.

"Well you should come to the game tonight." Scott suggested. "It's a great game."

"I don't know, I wanted to finish unpacking my room before I get too behind on classwork." Lennon bit into a carrot stick she dipped in hummus.

"It's not that long of a game, really." Lydia told her. "Everyone goes and gets really into it, and it makes it go by faster."

"I guess I can, my little brother wants to go, so maybe."

"Then it's settled. I'll pick you up at six." Lydia smiled satisfactorily and stood up, tossing her garbage in the bin and walking out as the bell rang. As Lennon was going to learn, at Beacon Hills, Lydia Martin almost always got her way.

* * *

_reviews are love! what do you guys think so far? do you like the characterizations so far? is there anything you want more or less of? let me know!_

_xoxo_

_k_


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3

A few short hours later, Lennon was bundled up, sitting in the bleachers between Allison and Lydia. Clutching the cup of hot chocolatey beverage in her hands, she shivered as she tried to keep up with the players running on the field. She had to admit, the game was exciting, it certainly helped most of the guys playing were people she had met earlier in the day.

"Scott's been made first line this year," Lydia said, pointing him out on the field. "And co-captain. With Jackson, of course."

"So, are you and Jackson together?" Lennon asked, looking at the girl as her bright, jade green eyes followed the co-captain. Lydia stiffened a bit, but kept her smile in place.

"We've hit a slight rough patch." she chirped, smoothing her skirt over her tights and straightening her posture. "Nothing that hasn't happened before."

"What about you?" Lennon leaned over to Allison, sensing Lydia was done talking until something happened in the game. "Have you got a guy out there?"

"Scott." Allison smiled softly. "Kind of. We've also kind of hit a rough patch."

"Mind enlightening me?" Lennon asked, sipping her hot cocoa. "I mean, technically I'm still a stranger but maybe an outside perspective could help." Allison bit her lip, then looked over to the girl sitting next to her, gauging her trustfulness.

"Scott's just been really weird lately." Allison shook her head, her tight curls bouncing. "He runs off and disappears all the time, and he's not honest about where he's going, and all I know is Stiles is usually with him. Then they talk about Derek Hale. They know him, they don't know him. It's so confusing."

"D-Do you think. . ." Lennon glanced out to the field, where Scott was running, and over to Stiles on the bench, chewing the finger of his glove, watching him intently. "They're. . .together?"

"Together?" Allison furrowed her brow, then laughed. "No, no Danny, the goalie, see him there? He would've told me. I mean, Scott for sure isn't. I'm not one hundred percent on Stiles, apparently he's been into Lydia since middle school, but it could be a cover up."

"Well my bedrooms looks right into his, and so far I've seen no posters of bulky hot males, but I'll keep an eye out." Lennon giggled with Allison. "I'm sure Scott is just getting used to not being single and balancing his time."

"How would you know?"

"My first boyfriend." Lennon smirked. "He was on the football and baseball team, and in choir, and they had shows and competitions, and then on top of games and homework and trying to fit in eating and sleeping and dating, he was a chicken with his head cut off for a month and a half."

"Wow," Allison shook her head. "Maybe I should talk to Scott? Let him know he doesn't have to be all in if he's too busy or something?"

"It could help." Lennon shrugged. "Anyway, who's this Derek Hale?"

"I don't know much about him, but he's like on the Beacon Hills wanted list." Allison informed her. "They think he killed his own sister, but they don't have any proof. Then a few weeks ago, we were locked in the school, and Scott said Derek was after him, after all of us. . .but I don't think it was him."

Lennon nodded, taking in the information. She was about to take another sip of her cocoa when Scott ran towards the opponent's goal, throwing the ball from his net and sending it soaring past the goalie's ear. The three girls joined everyone in jumping up and yelling in victory as the rest of the players swarmed the field, surrounding Scott. Lydia grabbed Lennon's hand and dragged her down the emptying bleachers, Allison following and led them out to the field.

Lydia let go of Lennon as soon as she saw Jackson, beelining towards him, and Allison went to see Scott. Lennon looked around, then smiled, walking over to someone herself.

"I didn't know you played lacrosse." she grinned, standing in front of Isaac. He looked down at her in surprise. "I kind of had you pegged as a poetry club guy."

"I don't really get to play a lot, and you never asked, so. . ." Isaac shrugged the best he could with his shoulder pads.

"Well, we didn't get much time to talk." Lennon sighed. "I think Lydia is having a party, tonight. Are you going? We can talk there."

"I-I can't go." Isaac stuttered quietly, his gaze about her head.

"If it's about your whole hierarchy thing, I already told Jackson off about that bullshit at lunch." Lennon smirked. "I'm sure I'm his favorite now."

"It's not that. I just can't go." he glanced down to her, his face stoic as his eyes met hers quickly, then snapped back up.

"Oh, okay. Well, I'll see you Monday then." Lennon nodded. She looked down at her feet and turned, walking back farther into the crowd and bumping into Stiles, who threw his arm around her shoulder and ushered her towards the parking lot with the rest of the team, as Isaac shuffled towards the bleachers. Lennon glanced back and him, sighed then turned and smiled up at Stiles, who was recounting Scott's amazing goal to her and anyone who listened.

* * *

Over the proceeding weekend, Lennon had gone to a party at Lydia's, gotten tipsy, and ended up discussing Star Wars with Stiles, and beating Greenberg at beer pong. Saturday, she had spent unpacking, Stiles coming over for a few hours before getting a text and running out of the room. Allison then had showed up, and the girls continued to unpack, along with a quick stop in the kitchen.

"So, can I ask you something?" Lennon poised her question as Allison hung up the white twinkle lights around the crown molding.

"Sure." Allison smiled. Lennon continued to pick up books and put them onto her new bookshelf.

"Do you know of a kid named Isaac?" she asked.

"Isaac. . .Lahey?" Allison turned and looked at Lennon, seeing if that was who she was thinking of.

"I'm not sure. I've never caught his last name." Lennon admitted. "He's kind of tall, lanky? Curly, blondish hair?"

"Yeah," Allison nodded. "That's Isaac Lahey. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Lennon shrugged. She felt Allison look at her and Lennon turned back around. "He's in my English class. I sit next to him, and. . .I don't know. He was so much nicer that night at the cemetery. . ."

"What night at the cemetery?" Lennon stopped, her hand extending toward the shelf.

"Um, you know, I got lost walking around the other night, by myself. Isaac was working, digging a grave, and I asked him for some directions. He was really helpful, even gave me a flashlight." Lennon nodded towards the tool sitting on her dresser. "Isaac was nice, and then his boss came out and yelled at him. His boss is super creepy by the way."

"That's his dad." Allison told her, walking over and opening up another box. "They're the caretakers, or something. But Isaac is pretty quiet. Keeps to himself a lot. . .I can't really say much more about him."

"Oh. . ." Lennon shrugged. "Well then his dad is really creepy. But I tried getting Isaac to go to the party last night, but he just wasn't into it."

"Do you like Isaac, Lennon?" Allison asked, a small smirk on her face. Lennon bit the inside of her cheek softly.

"I don't know." she admitted. "He's cute, in that broody, loner way, you know? That dark mystery, it's like crack to us girls. But I mean, I just got here. I don't want to date until I've settled in and at least have seen all my options."

"Smart." Allison nodded. "That's also what I said, and a week later, I was making out with Scott in my room while my parent's were still at work."

"Well, I'll just have to exert more self-control, if Beacon Hills boys are so tempting." Lennon chuckled. The girls continued to put things away, finishing their Saturday with movies and junk food in Lennon's bedroom.

* * *

Lennon walked into English Monday, her eyes locking onto Isaac, who was shrouded in his seat, reading from a new book. She sat down in her chair and glanced over at him.

"Good morning, Isaac." she greeted softly.

"Morning." he grumbled, not looking at her. Lennon dug into her bag and pulled out the old flashlight, setting it on his side of the desk, then fishing out her book and notebook. "What's that?"

"Your flashlight." Lennon said. "I figured you'd need it back, and I put it in my bag last night so I wouldn't forget."

"Thanks." Lennon glanced over at him and gave him a soft smile.

"No problem. How was your weekend?"

"It was okay. . .A lot of working."

"Is that how you got that?" Lennon asked, motioning to the light bruise on Isaac's left cheek. Isaac looked down and nodded.

"Yeah, I tripped getting out of the digger, because I couldn't see, and when I fell my face came in contact with a rock." he explained.

"Well, now you have your flashlight, so that should make sure that doesn't happen again." Lennon smiled at him, her hazel green eyes shining. Isaac smiled back and the teacher called for attention. She faced forward in her seat, and out of the corner of her eye, she could've sworn she saw Isaac shift his chair closer.

* * *

_okay so what do you all think? reviews are love!_

_also, if any of you are the tumblr, you can find me at isaaclaheyle dot tumblr dot com! I post this there as well!_

_xoxo_

_k_


	4. Chapter 4

Ch. 4

It had been a month since Lennon and her family had moved to Beacon Hills, and they had all settled in fine. Jude had joined a lacrosse little league, and Stiles had promised to help him practice at least once, but so far had been too busy for it. Lennon had become very close with Allison and Lydia, and was still working her way into Isaac's circle of trust, which was easier now that they had an English project to work on together.

The past week and a half had been interesting. Allison had been more quiet lately, since her Aunt Kate had come to visit for a while, who, by the way, was awesome. She was totally kick-ass and taught Lennon and Allison to use a taser. Jackson was in and out of school with bloody noses and flu-like symptoms. Scott and Stiles were always walking around, talking in hushed voices, changing the subject abruptly whenever Lennon approached, and she felt like something was going on, and Lennon wanted to find out.

"Hey punk." Lennon ruffled Jude's hair as she passed him on the front porch. He was sitting on the top step, his lacrosse stick laying across his legs, chin in hand. "What are you doing?"

"Stiles said he'd come over after school and help me practice."

"Well, give him some time. Stiles still has his own practice. He's been busy lately." Lennon assured him. _'All of my friends have been busy lately. . .'_

"This sucks." Jude muttered.

"Don't say sucks." Lennon said. "Come on, I'll make you a snack, and then we'll watch TV until my English partner comes over, okay?" the two walked inside the house, Jude tossing his lacrosse stuff on the floor of the living room and jumping onto the couch, turning the television on and settling in for cartoons. Lennon busied herself in the kitchen, spreading peanut butter onto graham crackers, and putting banana slices on top. She took the plate out to the living room and plopped down next to her brother, both of them "clinking" their snacks together and taking a bite.

Nearly an hour later, the doorbell sounded. Jude had fallen asleep, his head resting on the arm of the couch. Lennon stood up walking over to the door and opening it, grinning when she saw Isaac on the other side.

"Hey, come on in." she stepped back and let him through, shutting the door quietly behind them.

"Sorry I'm late." he said, holding the strap of his book bag on his shoulder. "I wanted to shower after practice."

"It's okay. You're not late at all." Lennon whispered back. Isaac studied her for a moment.

"Why are we whispering?"

"Oh, my little brother fell asleep, and I don't want to wake him up." she explained. Isaac nodded. "Go ahead through there, and I'll join you in a minute." Isaac nodded and walked on, and Lennon went into the living room and pulled a blanket over her brother. She picked up the plate an walked back out to the kitchen, where Isaac was standing at the counter.

"Want anything?" Lennon asked, setting the plate in the sink. "My step-dad went to culinary school, then had an early mid-life crisis and went to law school. Our kitchen is fully stocked, and I can whip up a snack for you, if you want."

"No thanks." Isaac declined, moving to the small breakfast table. Lennon rolled her eyes, reaching into the fridge and grabbing two bottles of water and a bowl of fruit salad. She grabbed two forks from the utensil drawer and walked over to the table, setting everything down. She placed a water in front of Isaac and took his hand, placing a fork in it.

"You've got to be starving after lacrosse." she reasoned. "Don't make a girl eat alone." Isaac studied her a moment, then smiled, taking his fork and reaching over to the bowl, stabbing a strawberry chunk and bringing it to his mouth. Lennon smiled and followed suit. They munched on the fruit as they worked on their project, time slipping by.

"Lennon?" Jude walked into the kitchen, rubbing his eye and yawning.

"Hey buddy, have a nice nap?" she asked, looking up at him. Jude nodded and looked at her, then to Isaac.

"Who's that?" he asked, pointing. Lennon smiled.

"Jude, this is my friend Isaac." she said, nudging Isaac. "Isaac, this is my brother, Jude."

"Nice to meet you." Jude mumbled, walking over and sitting on the chair next to Isaac. He stuck out his small hand and Isaac shook it.

"You too." he replied. Jude yawned and then looked at Lennon.

"Where are mom and dad?"

"Mom left for LA this morning, remember?" Lennon asked. "And Kevin is working late tonight."

"I'm hungry." Lennon looked at the clock, and saw it was around dinner time anyway.

"What would you like for dinner?"

"Pizza!" Lennon nodded and looked to Isaac.

"I'm good with pizza." he smiled softly at her. Lennon got up and went to a drawer, opening it and shuffling through various takeout menus. Once she found a pizza one, she picked up her phone and ordered the food.

"Jude, if you're going to stay out here, go shut off the television, okay?" Jude nodded and went out to the living room, nearly tripping over his lacrosse stick. Lennon moved to the table, shutting her books and stuffing them back into her backpack.

"Lennon, can you call Stiles?!" Jude asked loudly as he came back from the living room.

"Why?" Lennon questioned. "Go grab some plates from the cupboard." Jude sighed and opened a cupboard by the fridge.

"Because he promised and this is the third time he broke it!" Jude whined, bringing the plates over. He set them on the table and Lennon placed them around.

"Jude, Stiles is busy. He had his own lacrosse practice, and homework. He's probably really tired right now."

"But he promised." Jude pouted. Lennon crouched down in front of him and sighed.

"I know. I'll talk to him." she assured him for the second time. "Unless. . ." she turned her head and smiled at Isaac. His eyes went wide.

"What?"

"Hey Jude, maybe if you ask him really, _really _nicely, Isaac will help you practice for a little bit after dinner." Lennon gave Isaac a pleading look, silently begging him to oblige. "He's on the lacrosse team too."

"Really?" Jude looked up at Isaac, his patented puppy dog pout in place. Isaac couldn't help but break into a smile and nod.

"I could help you out." Isaac answered. "If you're heart isn't set on Stiles, I mean." That's all it took for Jude to latch onto Isaac and ask him hundreds of lacrosse questions. Lennon chuckled to herself and finished setting the table, then running and getting the pizza when the doorbell rang. They ate at the table, and once they were finished, Jude grabbed his gear and lugged it to the backyard, Isaac borrowing the stick that Kevin had bought for himself, to help when he was home. Lennon sat down on the steps of the back porch, watching Isaac show Jude a basic play.

An hour later, Lennon had to call a stop to the slight roughhousing and send Jude to get washed up for bed. Isaac sat down next to Lennon, trying to catch his breath.

"Your brother is a ball of energy, you know that?" Lennon grinned and nodded. Isaac studied her face for a few moments, making Lennon blush.

"What?" she asked, reaching up. "Do I have pizza sauce on my face?"

"No." Isaac shook his head. "You look nothing like your brother."

"Well I wouldn't." Lennon answered, wrapping her arms around her knees, hugging her knees to her chest. "I look like my dad. Almost a spitting image. Jude is my half-brother, so he looks like a little bit of my mom and Kevin, his dad."

"Oh," Isaac nodded. They sat in an awkward silence for a few moments, before Lennon spoke up.

"So, there's the winter formal coming up." Lennon began. "You excited?" Isaac shrugged.

"Eh, I really don't go to dances. . ." he replied, picking grass off the shin of his jeans. "It's not my thing."

"I see." Lennon looked down. "You don't think, that maybe, I don't know, you could make it a thing?" Isaac furrowed his brow and looked over at her.

"Why?"

"I'm trying to ask you to winter formal, okay?" Lennon explained, not chancing a glance at him. "I mean if you really don't want to, I'd understand. . ."

"Um, I mean, I guess I could go." Lennon looked up, and Isaac was looking off towards the fence that separated Lennon's and Stiles' houses. "Are you sure you want to go with me?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Lennon murmured. Isaac looked over at her and their eyes met.

"Okay." they smiled at each other until Jude came back, dressed in his pajamas, asking for a bedtime story. Isaac picked up the kitchen while Lennon put him to bed, and then they said their goodbyes.

"Sorry for turning our study session into a babysitting job." she smiled sheepishly. Isaac shrugged.

"It's okay. I like the little guy."

"Well thank you." Lennon smiled, leaning against the doorframe. Isaac stood in front of her, on the porch. "So, I'll see you tomorrow at school."

"Yeah." they both were smiling at each other. "Well I should get going."

"Right." Lennon nodded, regaining composure. "Good night, Isaac."

"Good night, Lennon." Lennon watched Isaac leave, picking up his bike and peddling off down the road.

* * *

_Thank you guys so much for all the reviews, favorites, and follows so far! It means a ton to me! reviews are love!_

_xoxo_

_k_


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5

"Lennon, he was half an hour late." Lydia sighed loudly. Lennon was sitting in the back of Stile's Jeep.

"So was Stiles." Lennon defended.

"Yes, but I told him to be so I could have enough time to finish getting ready." Lydia explained from the front seat. "Isaac has no excuse." Lennon crossed her arms over her chest and looked out the windshield, knowing Lydia was right.

"Maybe he took a nap and didn't set an alarm." Stiles reasoned. Lydia shook her head.

"He stood her up." she stated adamantly. "Totally like Loser Lahey."

"He's not a loser." Lennon snapped. "Lydia, you don't even know him."

"Whatever. I'm not having my friend pathetically wait on her front porch for a guy who has to ride a bike everywhere." Lennon bit her tongue to keep from snapping again. Lydia was an amazing friend, and she meant well, but sometimes Lennon just wanted to smack her.

"We'll have fun tonight," Stiles smiled at Lennon in the rearview mirror. "I promise." Lennon gave him a tight, forced smile as they pulled into the school's lot, parking adjacently to Jackson's Porsche. Stiles got out and ran to the other side of the Jeep, practically flinging himself at the passenger door and opening it, holding out a hand for Lydia as she stepped down. Lennon moved forward and stepped out as well, mimicking Lydia, smoothing out her skirt. Jackson and Allison got out of the Porsche, Jackson allowing Allison to hook her arm through his.

"Jackson." Lydia regarded him coolly. "You look handsome." Jackson paused.

"Obviously," he smirked. He glanced at Stiles' suit and Lennon before meeting Lydia's eyes again. "It's Hugo Boss." he sauntered away, Allison giving them a small smile as they approached the steps to the school.

"I don't care. I don't want compliments." Lydia mumbled under her breath. "I will not fall prey to society's desire to turn girls into emotionally insecure neurotics who pull up their dresses at the first flattering remark." Stiles didn't skip a beat.

"Well, I think you look beautiful." he said sincerely. Lennon smiled. Of all the things Stiles was, being genuine was one of the best.

"Really?" Lydia asked, looking at Stiles like she was seeing him for the first time. In answer, Stiles grinned goofily and turned, sticking out his elbow. Lydia looked to it and smiled proudly, turning like him and hooking her arm through it. She set into her signature strut, leading Stiles to the school.

Lennon glanced around the parking lot, hoping that Isaac would pop up out of nowhere and explain his suit hadn't been ready at the cleaners or that the chain on his bike broke and he had to wait for his dad to get home to get a ride. But she knew better. There was no sight of the tall ash-blonde boy.

"Hurry up, Lennon!" Lydia called over her shoulder. Lennon did one last check, then hurried to catch up, her heels clacking on the pavement loudly. The trio walked into the school and down the hallway and into the gym. A live band had set up and were playing to the crowd of teenagers already there and dancing. Jackson had departed from Allison, and was now sharing a bottle of liquor with Danny and his date. Stiles and Lydia had headed to a table, Lydia's rush of adoration for Stiles apparently being short-lived. But the young man stuck by her side, draping his coat over a chair and sitting down after pulling out Lydia's for her.

Lennon scanned the crowd, knowing it was no use. She winced at Greenberg trying to start a mosh pit, only to have Coach Finstock pull him off the dance floor. Allison had finally pulled Jackson out to the dance floor, and Lennon sighed, placing on a smile and going out to the dance floor. She started dancing and got pulled in by Danny, sandwiched between his date and him. Lennon's smile turned genuine at that point, especially when Stiles had convinced Lydia to get up and dance with him. Danny's date went to get more drinks and Danny and Lennon continued dancing as a slow song came on, joking around and having fun.

"McCall! I see you!" Coach Finstock was pointing towards the small grouping of bleachers that had been pulled out from the wall. "C'mere buddy!" Lennon glanced over and saw Scott scurry off the bleachers as Coach pushed through the crowd. Scott ran behind the large pieces of fabric that the decorating committee had hung up, trying to evade him.

"Danny! Danny dance with me!" Scott cut between Lennon and Danny.

"What?" Danny furrowed his brow.

"Dance with me!" Scott insisted.

"No?" Danny replied. "I'm dancing with Lennon."

"By all means." Lennon held up her hands in mock defeat. Scott pulled Danny's arms around his waist and then locked his own around his shoulders. Lennon bit her lip to keep from laughing at the look on Danny's face as Coach approached.

"McCall! You're not supposed to-" Coach stopped mid-sentence. He gazed between Danny and Scott. "What the hell are you-?" the band had stopped playing at Coach's yelling, and everyone was now staring incredulously at the three. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Yes, Coach?" Scott asked, looking at Danny, and then pulling himself a bit closer. Lennon brought her hand up to cover her mouth at Coach Finstock's flabbergasted face.

"Okay, hold on. . ." he chuckled nervously. He began trying to justify the reason he was upset, but kept cutting himself off, getting flustered at everyone's accusing stares. Finally, he gave up and walked away. Scott patted Danny on the shoulder and thanked him, bolting away. Danny turned and came face to face with his date, holding three cups, and looking none too pleased.

"I'll just get out of your hair." Lennon swooped in taking her cup and smiling sweetly. "You're both wonderful dancers, thank you." she took a sip and scurried off. Standing by the refreshments table, Lennon looked out upon her friends. Lydia was dancing with Stiles, looking around in search of someone, noticing Allison now dancing with Scott. Lennon watched as Stiles pulled back, and he and Lydia exchanged words, before ultimately, Lydia turned and walked away. Stiles watched her go, and then came over to the table where Lennon stood.

"Having fun?" he asked, picking up a chocolate chip cookie and taking a large bite of it. Lennon shrugged.

"I was, for a minute." she admitted. "Looks like we both get the short end of the stick, huh?" Stiles nodded and took another bite of the cookie as Lennon looked up. "Stiles," she laughed.

"Wha?" he asked, his mouth full.

"You-You've got-" Lennon took a napkin and gently wiped away a smear of chocolate on his face. "You had chocolate on your face."

"Oh thanks." Stiles' warm brown eyes locked with Lennon and she felt herself grin. The band started playing another ballad and Lennon crumpled up the napkin, tossing it away.

"I haven't gotten to slow dance with anyone yet tonight." she said, stepping in front of Stiles. "Stiles Stilinski, will you do me the favor of swaying side to side with me?"

"I would be honored." Stiles threw his cookie over his shoulder and grabbed Lennon's hand, twirling her out onto the floor before grabbing her waist and pulling her close, swaying with her. Lennon rested her head on his shoulder, feeling herself blush when he held her closer.

* * *

A scream ripped at Isaac's throat, his hands thrown out in front of him, banging at the roof above his head. Frantic tears ran down his face, as he raked his nails down the sides of the freezer, the chains rattling on the outside.

"You're not going to take my things without asking again, are you?" his father's voice was loud, but muffled through the walls of the freezer. Isaac gasped for air, trying to calm down, but couldn't help it. He kicked and hit, making a few dents, but ultimately nothing happening. He could hear his father laugh, and unlock the padlock and drop the chains. He lifted the lid and Isaac peered up at his dad's face.

"Get up." he grumbled. Isaac's hands gripped the edge of the freezer as he slowly raised himself. Dave grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him up farther, his face dangerously close to Isaac's. "Now you'll know not to take my things without asking, won't you?" Isaac nodded. "Answer me!" his father yelled. Isaac winced and nodded again, vigorously.

"Y-Yes sir." Dave let him go, and Isaac stumbled a bit. He walked up the stairs left Isaac alone in the basement. He walked over to the wall and turned on the light. His eyes looked up and caught the clock above his dad's work bench. "Midnight." he sighed. The dance was over, and Lennon was probably upset with him. Isaac listened to his father's footsteps above him, and heard his bedroom door shut. He climbed the stairs and went to his own room, grabbing his cell phone from the drawer his father kept it in when he was in trouble. Laying down on his bed Isaac scrolled through his contacts, and pressed Lennon. Her smiling face appeared on the screen above the word dialing, and he felt his stomach jolt. He hated knowing he disappointed her. After two rings, he was sent straight to voicemail. Isaac tried calling two more times before shutting his phone off and tossing it onto the bed next to him, falling asleep and hoping Lennon would still talk to him on Monday.

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_uh oh we're getting to the serious stuff! what do you guys think? reviews are love!_

_xoxo_

_k_


	6. Chapter 6

Ch. 6

Lennon didn't know how to feel about her friends anymore. Especially Stiles and Isaac. She sat on her bed Sunday evening, messing around on her computer, writing back to a few friends from LA that she had kept in contact with. Isaac had ditched her and tried to call her that night, but she ignored it, too upset to talk to him rationally.. And Stiles, well, Stiles was confusing.

_"I'm kind of glad our dates ditched us." Stiles murmured to Lennon as they swayed. Lennon pulled back to look him in the eyes, small smiles on their faces. "This is nice."_

_"Yeah, it is." Lennon agreed._

_"You look beautiful, by the way." Stiles said. "I forgot to say it earlier."_

_"It's okay. I'm not your date, so compliments aren't necessary. Very welcome, but unnecessary." Stiles leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers as they danced. His eyes darted from her own to her lips, then back up. Lennon gave him a soft smile, accepting his advance, and Stiles leaned down, placing his lips softly against hers. Lennon kissed back, her full lips against his thinner ones, a small flutter in her stomach. They pulled away slowly, and Stiles looked at her with wide eyes._

_"I should go find Lydia." he breathed. Lennon felt her heart drop into her stomach. Nodding, she let him go and he ran off. That was the last Lennon had really seen of her friends that night._

Lennon sighed and looked out her bedroom window. Stiles' bedroom light had been off for the past three nights. There had been an accident at the dance, out on the field, something to do with Lydia. No one would give Lennon a straight answer about what happened. Jackson had brought her to the hospital and Stiles had been there since, sleeping in the waiting room, keen on being the first to know any update on the strawberry blonde. Lennon had gone to see her Saturday, but the visit was brief, due to doctors running around and wanting to start tests on her.

Lennon had then spent the rest of her weekend around the house, playing with Jude and moping about. She promised herself that Monday, she'd get over it. Stiles probably didn't mean anything by the kiss. They were both just caught up in the fact that they were finally having some real fun together, and it probably brought up temporary feelings. Isaac…Lennon would hear him out. That was all she could decide to do at that point.

"Lennon, you have a visitor downstairs." Lennon looked up at her mother, who was peeking into her room.

"Who is it?" she asked, furrowing her brow.

"Some boy named Isaac, sweetie." Lennon nodded, shutting her laptop and standing up.

"Uh, tell him I'll be right down." Lennon's mother nodded and went back downstairs. Lennon stood up and went to her vanity, rolling yoga pants down once more, letting the 'V' of her hips peek out from the hem of henley tee. She swiped a tube of chapstick across her lips and fluffed her hair up in the mirror, and took a deep breath. Lennon walked out of her room and down the stairs, where she saw Isaac sitting with her mom and Jude. He stood up when he saw her.

"Isaac, hi." she greeted.

"Hi." he walked closer to her, his hands in his jeans pockets. "I was wondering if we could talk…"

"Yeah." Lennon nodded. She went over to the table in the hallway and grabbed her car keys. "Mom, we'll be right back."

"Okay. You've got a curfew!" she reminded. Lennon held back her eyeroll. Her mother was a big talker about curfews, but never really stuck to it. Lennon had broken her eleven-thirty-on-a-school-night curfew six times by now, and her weekend curfew more. Then again, most of those times she was right next door with Stiles, but still. Lennon motioned for Isaac to follow her and he did, and they got into her truck.

Lennon drove them to the reserve and parked by a few clumps of trees. She turned the engine off, leaving the keys in the ignition, and faced Isaac.

"Talk." she said. Isaac nodded, a hand reaching up and running through his hair.

"Lennon, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stand you up. Honestly I was about to leave when-" Isaac stopped abruptly,

"When what, Isaac?" Lennon asked, her tone serious, but soft. Isaac continued to hesitate, and Lennon reached out, taking his hand. "Isaac, I'm not mad. Not anymore. It was a dance, and I went, and danced, came home and went to bed. So begins another day."

"I'm just really sorry." he replied. "I-I like you, Lennon. And not because you're the first person to really want to even talk to me. I think you're amazing." Lennon smiled and moved closer, bringing his hands to her lips and giving it a small kiss. The skin of his knuckles felt rough against her lips, and when she pulled back, she noted that there was a litter of scabs on them. She reached for his other arm and brought it forward, seeing the same on his knuckles there.

"I uh, I got really upset last night when I realized I was too late to come get you." Isaac told her, lacing his fingers through hers. "I kind of beat up a wall." Lennon shook her head and looked into his blue eyes.

"Well, I can think of a way you can make it all up to me," a tiny smirk spread across Lennon's face.

"What's that?" Isaac asked. He knew what she was going to say next, his eyes already on her lips.

"Kiss me." That's all it took for Isaac to lean over and press his lips against hers. Lennon smiled into the kiss, using the leverage of holding his hands to straddle his lap. She let go and his hands made their way to her waist as hers cupped his face, bringing him impossibly closer. The loose, worn sleeves of his navy long sleeved t-shirt tickled her skin and she giggled, making Isaac smile. Lennon moved her hands to his sides, and pulled back when he pulled away and winced. She lifted up his shirt and saw a large bruise across the left side of his stomach.

"Did the wall hit back?" she asked, her face dark. "Isaac how'd you get that?"

"I-It…It's nothing, I-"

"It's not nothing, Isaac that bruise looks seriously painful."

Suddenly there was a tapping on the glass, a Lennon jumped, looking out the window to see her next door neighbor looking back at her.

"Hey Sheriff…" Lennon gave him a sheepish smile.

"Lennon." he greeted.

"Uh, have I done something wrong?" she asked. Mr. Stilinski looked between her and Isaac, cleared his throat and squinted his eyes. Lennon jumped off of Isaac's lap and sat next to him, leaning towards the window. "Sorry."

"I saw your truck and thought you might've busted Lydia out of the hospital." the Sheriff told her.

"What do you mean? I haven't seen her since yesterday when I went to visit." Lennon knitted her eyebrows together in confusion.

"Apparently she went to take a shower, and her father left the room. They heard her scream from the hallway and when they went into the bathroom, she was missing." Mr. Stilinski answered. "She's um, missing her clothes."

"Oh," Lennon gasped. "Well, we haven't really seen anything."

"I figured as much." the Sheriff nodded, his tone showing where his son got his sarcasm from. "Why don't you guys get on home? It's getting late." Lennon and Isaac nodded in unison, moving back to their original seating arrangement. "Oh, and Lennon?"

"Yes, Sheriff?"

"If I catch you out here like that again, I will tell your mother." Lennon's face paled and she nodded.

"Absolutely Sheriff." she nodded vigorously as Mr. Stilinski walked away from the vehicle. Lennon let out a long breath, leaning her head back against the headrest. She looked over to Isaac and they grinned at each other. Lennon started the truck and drove them back to her house.

"So, does this mean we're dating now?" Isaac asked as they stood on her front porch. His hand was intwined with hers and she leaned back against the post.

"Well, you should at least take me to the movies or something, I mean," Lennon smirked, looking up at him through her lashes. "What kind of girl do you take me for?" Isaac just grinned and leaned over, placing a kiss on her lips.

"I gotta get home, get dinner with my dad, then I have to work a bit. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Good night, Isaac Lahey."

"Good night, Lennon McIntyre." Lennon watched as Isaac left on his bike, waiting until she couldn't see him anymore before going inside.

* * *

_thank you, thank you, thank you for all the wonderful reviews, favorites and follows! it means so much to me that you guys are really getting into the story! keep 'em coming! things are going to start heating up, and not just between lennon and isaac!_

_xoxo_

_k_


	7. Chapter 7

Ch. 7

Isaac smiled to himself, watching Lennon sit on his messily made bed, and glue things to their poster for English class. He had printed and cut everything out at school, and she met him at his house. Isaac was thankful his father was working, getting a grave ready for a funeral tomorrow.

"I love Greek mythology." she murmured, pressing her hand down on the picture of a statue of a Greek God. "It's so fascinating. I mean, setting aside the rampant incest, the stories are so cool."

"What's your favorite story?" Isaac asked. He watched as the smile on her face grew bigger.

"I don't know," she said. "I think I just like that there's no real villains. The Gods are literally proof that nobody's perfect. I mean, in our culture, Hades is considered evil because he's the god of the underworld, but really, he's just a mad doing his job. The underworld isn't Hell, it's just where it was thought you go when you die. You couldn't go up to Mount Olympus with the Gods, you had to be a God."

"You sure know a lot about this stuff." Lennon looked up at Isaac and grinned.

"I just love myths and folklore." she shrugged. "I just-I don't know, I've always had this thing, like oh! You know that colony in New England that just like, disappeared? Roanoke? How did it happen? What happened? There are literally no accounts of illness or anything and then just one night, everyone is gone. It's a ghost town. I've always wanted to know what happened."

"You know," Isaac got up from the desk chair and sat next to her on the bed, taking the glue stick from her hand and capping it, tossing it to the floor. "You're really cute when you get passionate about things."

"Oh really?" Lennon smiled, feeling his fingers on top of her hand. He brought it to his lips and kissed, it, the leaned over and kissed her lips. Lennon turned and smiled into it, just like she always did when Isaac kissed her. Pushing the poster to the floor, he moved, pushing Lennon back so she laid down and he hovered over her. Isaac continued to kiss Lennon, both teenagers letting their hormones take over the controls.

Isaac lowered his body, giving a small grind to their hips and Lennon responded with a gasp as his kisses trailed down her neck. Her hands went to his waist and back, pressing him closer as their clothed bodies moved together. Lennon moved her hands down and ran them along his side. Isaac pulled back, inhaling sharply. Lennon sighed and looked up at him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, you just pressed on that bruise." Isaac nodded, moving to kiss her again, but for Lennon the mood was gone.

"Isaac, are you going to tell me how you got that?" Lennon asked, sitting up, forcing him to sit back on his knees.

"Lennon, it's not a big deal."

"Yes, it is a big deal. You didn't play in the lacrosse games the last two weeks, and you've had to work during practices, so I know it's not that." she said. "And there are only so many times you can say you fell off of the digger and expect me to believe it."

Isaac looked to his bedroom door, a habit triggered by caution. He nodded and moved, sitting cross-legged on the bed in front of Lennon. Taking her hand in his, he rubbed his thumb across the smooth skin, willing the words to leave his lips.

"Lennon, you can't tell anyone." he stated quietly. "Not your parents, or Allison, and especially not Stiles or his dad."

"Okay." Isaac took a deep breath. Then another. And another. He kept breathing in and out, keeping the steady rhythm until he could figure out the right way to tell her the truth.

"When I-My dad, he just gets angry sometimes, when I don't do something like I'm supposed to." Isaac struggled with the words. Lennon's forehead creased, beginning to understand. "Sometimes he hits me."

"Isaac, I-" Lennon took her hand back, only to wrap both her arms around him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, finding comfort in her embrace. "I'm so sorry, Isaac. I-Is there anything I can do?"

"You do enough." Isaac assured her quietly, pulling back. "Just being with you makes me forget and feel better. I think about you when he locks me in-" he stopped again.

"Locks you in what, Isaac?"

"There's a-a big freezer downstairs, in the basement. . ." Isaac took a deep breath, his hands shaking on her back. "He puts me in there and chains it shut, Lennon."

"Isaac, you don't deserve this." Lennon had tears welling in her eyes at the thought of Isaac locked up in the dark, cold freezer. Her hands reached up to cup his face, her hazel-green eyes filled with warmth and concern for him. "Isaac, we have to tell someone."

"Lennon, no, you said you wouldn't." Isaac pulled back, grasping her hands in his. "You promised."

"Isaac, I can't just let you to continue to get hurt like this." she took her hands back and gestured towards his bruises. "What your dad is doing isn't right."

"If he gets locked up, I get put into foster care, and away from everything I know." Isaac tried to reason with her. "Lennon, this has been going on for years, I can handle it." Lennon crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips.

"Promise me you'll come to me?" she asked quietly. "The next time it happens, promise you'll come to me. I won't tell anyone, but just. . .I want you to be safe."

"I'll try." Isaac nodded. "It's tricky when he's in his moods."

"I'm so sorry this is happening to you." a tear escaped and she brought up her hand to wipe it away, but Isaac beat her to it. "I don't know why he does it to you, but I guarantee you that it's not what you deserve. You're my person, Isaac."

"Your what?" Isaac broke out into a grin and Lennon rolled her eyes.

"You know, everyone has that one person who makes life suck less. I mean, I wanted to move here, I was excited, but lately everyone seems to be giving me the short end of the stick. But one person is making it better." she explained. "You're that for me."

"Lennon," Isaac smiled. "You're the same for me, and so much more." he leaned down, pressing his lips to hers. Lennon cupped his face again, and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Hate to break up the party," the teens broke apart and looked to the doorway. Mr. Lahey was standing there with his arms folded over his chest. Lennon did her best not to glare at him. She couldn't imagine what would happen if Mr. Lahey knew that Isaac had told her. "But Isaac's got work to do tonight."

"We were just working on our English project." Lennon said, bending down to pick up the poster. "I can finish it at home, though."

"I'll see you at school, Lennon."

"Bye Isaac." Lennon hopped up onto her tiptoes and kissed Isaac on the cheek. She grabbed her bag from his desk and passed by his dad, saying a short goodbye. Isaac saw his father turn and watch Lennon walk down the hallway and then turn back to him, an impressed expression on his face.

"I'm surprised Isaac." he said, walking towards the boy. "She's a good one. How much?"

"H-How much what?"

"How much are you paying her?" Mr. Lahey asked. "A grade A piece like that wouldn't be slumming it with you without a cash flow."

"I'm n-not paying her anything, dad." Isaac's eyes were on the ground.

"Yeah, I'll believe that." Dave snorted. "Come on, get to work. You have to finish the grave tonight." Isaac nodded and luckily his dad left, shaking his head, leaving Isaac to get ready for a long night of work.

* * *

Lennon quietly snuck around the kitchen, letting the light on the microwave be the only source, other than the bright, full moon outside. She smiled as she finished packing a paper bag full of goodies. Her mom had made snickerdoodle cookies earlier in the day while stuck in a writing rut, so Lennon made sure to pack a heap of those, along with a large thermos of hot chocolate, a ham and turkey sandwich, and a small plastic baggie of potato chips. She wrote 'Isaac' on the front of the bag and pulled on her shoes, quietly snatching her keys from the table and grabbing the bag, heading out the door. She walked to her car and was about to get in when a hand fell on her shoulder.

"Holy shi-!" she brought up her hand to keep from yelling too loud. Stiles stood before her, his eyes wide and panicky. "Stiles Stilinski what the hell do you think you're doing?" she hissed in a harsh whisper.

"I could ask you the same thing!" he replied. "What are you doing out so late?"

"Isaac's working, so I was going to take him some food." Lennon gestured to the bag in her hand. "What are you doing, besides scaring young girls half to death?"

"Lennon, it's a full moon!" Stiles groaned, his eyes up toward the moon. Lennon rolled her eyes.

"Stiles, I've got mace and a taser." she sighed. "I grew up in Los Angeles, not Green Acres. I can handle a few weirdos on a full moon." she unlocked her car and began opening the door when Stiles reached and shut it.

"It's not safe, go back inside." Stiles demanded, trying to push her towards her house. Lennon shook her head and moved away.

"Stiles, I don't know what's going on, but if it's because we kissed at the dance, I'm sorry." she crossed her arms over her chest. "You're in love with Lydia, and I'm really liking Isaac. We kissed, and that was it."

"What? Oh yeah! Yes this about that kiss." Stiles nodded vigorously. "I want to do it again, I really do."

"Stiles, what?!" Lennon looked at him as if he were growing three heads. "Oh my god, if you come any closer I'll use the taser." Stiles stopped in his tracks.

"Lennon, just go back inside. I'll take Isaac his things." Lennon just shook her head.

"Stiles, I'm a big girl." she rolled her eyes and passed him, opening her car door. "I'm just going to the cemetery and back. It's barely two blocks. I'll be okay." she shut the door and started the car, backing out as Stiles stood, watching, mumbling something to himself and looking up to the moon.

Lennon parked at the cemetery and looked in, seeing the digger not to far, and Isaac working it. She had come prepared this time, a handful of pebbles already in her pocket as she approached. She tossed a few at the window, and this time it didn't take long for Isaac to notice her.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked, stopping the machine and looking down at her.

"I brought you a midnight snack." she held up the bag and shook it a little, grinning as his face broke out into a bigger smile. He held out his hand and she took it, stepping up on the wheel and finally into the tiny car of the machine. There wasn't a lot of room so she sat on Isaac's lap, twisted a bit so she could talk to him as he opened the bag and looked through the contents.

"You brought me an entire meal, Lennon." he smirked, leaning over and kissing her cheek. Lennon shrugged.

"You're out here working all night, I just figured you'd need some fuel." she put an arm around his neck, her fingers idly playing with the short hairs at the back of his neck as he unwrapped the sandwich and took a large bite.

"Did foo nee oouw?" he asked with his mouth full, and Lennon laughed.

"Kind of." she replied, taking a napkin from the bag and wiping at a dot of mustard on his lip. "Stiles caught me, though. He was so incessant about me not coming here tonight. He kept using that defense about weirdos and the full moon again. I mean, his dad's sheriff, so I suppose he'd be the one to know of the town looney-toon's but the only thing I've heard about are mountain lion attacks, and that thing that attacked Lydia."

"He's just being a good friend." Isaac shrugged. "I'm worried about you being out this late too."

"Yeah, but I've got you and this giant machine to keep me safe, don't I?" Isaac nodded, finishing off the sandwich. He leaned over and kissed Lennon fully on the lips after taking a swig from the hot chocolate thermos. After sharing a few cookies, Lennon decided to get back home, before anyone knew she was gone. As she walked back to her car, she heard a rustling in one of the bushes. Lennon pulled her taser out, and heard a short growl. Her heart began beating faster, and she hoped that her little taser could take down a mountain lion. She stared into the bush, and a noise sounded behind her. She spun on her heels quickly, aiming the taser into the dark, but see nothing.

Cautiously, Lennon turned back around, looking at the bush again, and freezing when large, red eyes stared back at her. She regained her shaky composure quickly, and moved slowly towards her car, bringing a hand to the key fob and unlocking it. The eyes disappeared at the sound of the locks and she mad dashed the rest of the way, throwing open the door and climbing inside, and speeding home. Those red eyes chilled her to the bone.

Lennon had decided as she laid down that night, that whatever those eyes belonged to, it certainly wasn't a mountain lion, but they were the eyes of a killer.

* * *

_reviews are love yall! i'm off to beat the heat at my friend's pool party!_

_xoxo_

_k _


	8. Chapter 7point5

Ch. 7.5

Isaac rubbed his full stomach, stretching in the chair before getting back to work, digging the grave. He wondered to himself how lucky it was that Lennon had worked her way into his life. She didn't ask about the black eye he was beginning to sport after getting defensive when his dad had said some less than savory things about Lennon. She merely eyed it, and gave it a small kiss and continued their conversation.

Isaac reached up and gently touched the bruising skin, looking into the rearview mirror on the side of the digger, wincing when he pressed too hard. Looking back out at the cemetery, something caught his eye. A quick, shadowed movement behind the graves, darting between the stones and trees. His eyes scanned the area as he pulled his earphones from his ears, turning the digger towards where the figure had darted. Sitting up, he checked behind him on both sides, turning back, a sharp chill of fear running through his body.

_'It can't be Dad. . .'_ he thought, his heart beating faster and his breathing picking up. _'He doesn't have that flair for dramatics. . .'_

Isaac turned the digger again, slowly, taking in the area in front of him, leaning forward in his seat. A rustling sounded to his right, and he turned, quicker this time. The lights shining on a grave stone. A large, clawed hand wrapped around the side of a larger headstone. Isaac leaned ever farther forward in his seat, disbelieving the sight he just saw.

"What the hell?" he murmured to himself. Just as quick as it appeared, it disappeared. Isaac's heart pounded in his chest. What kind of freaks were out here tonight? Had Lennon ran into this thing? He took out his phone, unlocking the screen and tapping the messages button. Suddenly, he heard the steady rhythm of an animal running towards him and looked up. He gasped and jumped up as much as he could in the tiny car, trying to get away from the creature, it's red eyes glowing dangerously. The creature jumped up towards the digger, it's power tipping it over. Isaac's foothold slipped and he let go as the digger began falling over, jumping into the open grave. The machine groaned as it fell onto it's side, trapping Isaac in the small space, the glass of the windshield showering down around him. Isaac covered his head and face, waiting to hear the glass stop falling.

Backing himself into the corner, he looked at how far up the edges of the grave were, knowing he could just barely peek out over them on his tiptoes. As he looked up, he saw the shadowy figure leap over the digger, growling as it went. After a few moments, Isaac drew in a shaky breath and started to stand up, his fingers grasping the edge of the grave. He pulled himself up onto his tiptoes, peeking out over the ledge as the sounds of animalistic growling continued. His eyes were met with the sight of something digging ferociously at a grave just across from him. Quickly, Isaac ducked back into the grave. He'd never actually witnessed a grave robbery before, but he was sure that they usually weren't as violent as that thing was making it.

Without warning, a loud, inhuman roar ripped through the night air, making Isaac shake even more. The digger groaned again, and Isaac looked up as it was being lifted off the top of the grave. Isaac kicked at the dirt below him, squeezing himself into the dark corner. If he could stay in the dark, maybe whatever was out there wouldn't see him, couldn't see him.

Footsteps neared the edge of the grave, leaves crunching underneath them, stopping at the ledge. Isaac took a deep breath, lifting his eyes, seeing a pair of black shoes. He looked farther up and saw a man standing above him. Not just any man. Derek Hale.

"Need a hand?" he asked, looking down at the younger boy. Isaac just stared back for a few moments, sinking back into the corner, not sure whether to be relieved or more terrified. Either way, his pounding heart wouldn't let him calm down any time soon.

* * *

"What was out there?" Isaac asked, sitting in the passenger seat of Derek's car.

"I'm not sure." Derek shook his head. "But it wasn't friendly."

"Yeah, obviously." Isaac muttered under his breath. They pulled up to a row of warehouses and the old, abandoned bus depot. Derek parked and got out, Isaac hesitantly following.

"That's quite the shiner you've got there." he called out, pointing to Isaac's left eye.

"Uh, yeah. . ." Isaac cleared his throat. "Lacrosse."

"So your dad plays too?" Derek asked, raising an eyebrow as Isaac's furrowed. "I know. I've been keeping tabs on you."

"Wha-What?" Isaac asked, staring at Derek incredulously. "That's. . .That's really weird dude."

"I can help you." Derek ignored Isaac's comment, folding his arms across he chest.

"No one can." Isaac shook his head. Derek scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"I can give you power." Derek reasoned. "The agility of a cheetah, the strength of one hundred bodybuilders. I can give you the ability to heal a bruise like that within an hour."

"Are you drugs?" Isaac asked, backing away. "Are you trying to sell me something?

"No," Derek chuckled under his breath, shaking his head and looking down. When he looked back up, his eyes were glowing red and hair had sprouted on his cheeks. His face had become more defined, and his teeth had grown, his canines larger than believable. He reared back a bit, taking advantage of a stunned Isaac and darting towards him, grabbing him by his arms and forcing him to stay still.."I'm an Alpha."

* * *

_don't worry lovely readers, you're getting chapter eight in just a few moments! i felt this needed to stand on it's own as an individual chapter!_

_reviews are love!_

_xoxo_


	9. Chapter 8

Ch. 8

Lennon made it home in record time, and Stiles was sitting on the front porch.

"Have you been waiting for me?" she asked, getting out of the car and shutting the door quietly, locking it once so the horn wouldn't sound.

"I just wanted to make sure you got home." he said.

"So it's too dangerous for me to go visit my boyfriend but you can wait out for a half an hour on my porch and be fine?" Lennon crossed her arms over her chest. "Keep your double standards to yourself, Stilinski."

"I just worried about you. You don't what creat-" Stiles stopped mid sentence. "Creeps are out there at night."

"And I'm appreciative of that, but I can take care of myself." Lennon pushed past him and he grabbed her hand, making her turn back around to him. "Stiles, come on. I'm tired, I want to go to bed."

"Just be careful." Stiles insisted. Lennon studied his face, her eyes squinting a bit as she thought. She stepped down from the porch slowly, before coming toe-to-toe with Stiles.

"I don't know what's going on," she said, looking straight into his eyes. "Lydia goes missing on some weird bender from the hospital, you and Scott and Allison are having hushed conversations everywhere. You're not very stealthy when you shut up the minute I come up to you guys."

"Well, I-"

"I'm not stupid, Stiles." Lennon sighed. "Something is going on, and I want to know." Stiles said nothing, and Lennon shook her head. "Good night Stiles. I'll see you tomorrow."

Lennon left Stiles, sneaking back into her house and creeping up the stairs. Kicking her shoes off, she calmed her temper down. He friends were keeping something from her. Hiding it, almost. Lennon wanted to know what it was, and why Stiles had been warning her to be careful. Maybe Derek Hale was causing trouble again, or maybe they were just all really weird. Either way, Lennon was going to fight with herself over finding out. Was it really any of her business to find out? Is Stiles trying to warn her against going out at night a way of letting her know that she needed to?

She sighed and turned in her bed, staring out at the full moon and letting her mind continue to ramble.

The next night, Lennon and Isaac went for a drive, ending up the way they were when the Sheriff caught them.

Lennon leaned over, closing the already small space between them and pressed her lips to his. Her hands came up and cupped his face, deepening the kiss. Isaac responded, and before they knew it, Lennon had moved over to the passenger side of her car, straddling his waist. Her fingers were in his hair, and his hands were on her back, underneath her shirt, gripping her body closer. Lennon pulled back from Isaac, smirking as she pulled her shirt off and tossed it into the back seat, watching Isaac's eyes as they darted from her own, to her lips, down to her breasts, then back to her lips.

Isaac pulled her back down to him and kissed her lips, then setting a trail from there down to her neck, kissing and sucking. Lennon's hands gripped Isaac's shoulders as she bit her lip and sighed in his ear. Her hands moved from his shoulders, running over his chest and down to his belt. She deftly undid the buckle and moved to the button of his pants.

"Wait, wait!" Isaac pulled back, grabbing Lennon's hands and pulling them away from his pants. Lennon furrowed her brow as she sat back, watching Isaac as he caught his breath. "I'm sorry, I just-" he let go of her arms and Lennon nodded and moved back to her seat.

"Are you okay?" Lennon asked, looking over at him, tugging her bra strap back up over her shoulder.

"Y-Yeah, I just. . ." Isaac glanced at her quickly then looked back out the window. "I don't want your first time to be in a car." Lennon blushed, and nodded.

"Well," she said, giving him a small smile. "thank you for that, it's very. . .sweet of you. But for future reference, I haven't been a virgin for a while." Isaac didn't say anything and Lennon willed herself to keep the tears back, internally damning society for giving girls a bad reputation if they weren't pure before age seventeen. Then she looked at his face.

"O-Oh, is this, would this have been. . ." she stuttered in surprise. "Y-Your first time?" Isaac nodded. "Oh."

"We can just go-"

"No! No," Lennon looked over and grabbed his hand giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I promise, I'm not put off by it. I'm just surprised."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you've got the sensitive loner vibe going on. I figured girls would be all over that." Lennon admitted, feeling heat rush to her face. "To be honest though, I'm glad they aren't."

"Really?" finally met her eyes, his icy blue ones making her stomach flutter.

"Yeah." Lennon had to look away, down to her lap. "The thought of other girls being with you that way, it makes me feel jealous. . ." Lennon bit her lip to keep the embarrassed grin from forming but to no avail. Isaac watched her face in the moonlight and nodded. Moving, he reached to the backseat, grabbing her shirt and handing it to her.

"What's that?" he asked, noticing a large mark on her stomach. Lennon looked down then sighed.

"That's my battle scar." she said. "When I was seven, I got attacked by my friends' dog. It's why I'm kind of scared of them, actually. Dogs, I mean. W-Well big dogs." Whether she noticed Isaac's body stiffen or not, he couldn't tell as she rambled on, trying to find the right side of her shirt to put it on. "I got about seventy stitches and this scar. It's faded a lot, and I had the option to get it like, lasered off, but I wanted to keep it. When I was younger, it was a cool story at the water park, and now it's kind of a reminder. . ."

"Of what?"

"That even something seemingly harmless can hurt you." Lennon said softly. She pulled her top back on and looked over at Isaac. "We should get going." Isaac nodded in return and Lennon turned on the car pulling out of the small clearing, and driving away from the woods, back towards town.

* * *

"Isaac? Is that you?" Lennon called from the kitchen when she heard a knock on the door nearly a week later. She was putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher after their dinner, and Isaac had gone to get them frozen yogurt. They were taking advantage of the fact that her family was out for the entire weekend. Kevin had gone to L.A. with her mother and Jude had been missing his grandma, so Kevin sent him out there for the weekend. Lennon shut the dishwasher and turned it on, wiping her hands on a towel and going to the front door to help Isaac. She opened the door and jumped a bit when she came face to face with the Sheriff.

"Howdy Sheriff," Lennon smiled. He was dressed in civilian clothes, which for him consisted of a button down cotton shirt and stonewashed denim jeans with black leather boots that shined under the porch light. Lennon imagined there was a motorcycle in his past that he missed dearly. "What can I do for you?"

"You can just call me Paul when I'm not in uniform, I've told you that." he said to her as he entered the house. "Your mom called me and asked if I would check up on you."

"Everything's fine, Paul." Lennon shrugged. "I mean, aside from the house fire, the kidnappers and the homicidal maniac running around, I'm good." Paul stared at her a moment. "I'm kidding. Everything is plain and boring."

"Good." Paul nodded. "I like plain and boring. So you're okay here by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'm good. I'm just gonna curl up with some movies and-"

"Hey, they didn't have rocky road so I went with a safe fall back and got chocolate for you and cookies and cream for me " Isaac said as he entered the house. He caught sight of the Sheriff and Lennon and froze.

"I'm guessing your boyfriend is a part of those plans?" Paul asked, looking between them.

"What? No!" Lennon shook her head furiously. "Isaac and I were just having dinner and he went to get frozen yogurt. He's leaving by eleven at the latest."

"Sure, okay." Paul nodded. "Well I let you get back to that." he moved to leave and stopped next to Isaac, eyeing the frozen yogurt. He reached out and took the cookies and cream one, taking a bite from it. "I'm gonna take this. Have a good night. And Isaac, hands to yourself."

"He took my yogurt." Isaac frowned after Mr. Stilinski had left and Lennon shut the doors. "Can he do that?"

"He's the Sheriff, I think he can." Lennon laughed. "You'll just have to share mine." she closed the space between them. Isaac shook his head and smirked good-naturedly.

"Didn't you hear him? I have to keep my hands to myself." he murmured as Lennon eyed his lips.

"I did." she answered. "But I didn't say anything about mine." Isaac sucked in a shallow breath and Lennon leaned in for a kiss, her lips just ghosting his, and just as he pursed his lips for a kiss, she pulled away, snatching her frozen yogurt out of his hands and skipping to the living room. Isaac watched her hips sway and quickly followed after her. He flopped down on the couch and Lennon sat between his legs, leaning her back against his chest. He grabbed the remote and flipped on the TV, going to the movie channels and picking a film to watch. Lennon scooped a spoonful of yogurt and ate it, then Isaac's hand enclosed around hers, taking the container and spoon and he took a bite.

Nearly an hour later, Lennon was on top of Isaac, his hands were in her hair, tangling around the strands and pulling her closer. His body was heating up with every little move Lennon made with her clothed hips.

"How about," she breathed, pulling away from Isaac's lips. "we take this to my room?" Isaac nodded and Lennon stood up, and pulled him to his feet, leading him up to her bedroom. Once inside, she shut the door and pushed him up against it. Their lips met, but only for a few moments before she took his hand and shoved him onto her bed. She crawled on top of him and pushed her hair back. He looked up at her, his blue eyes shining up at her.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly, the fire dying down a bit, but still blazing behind her stomach. "We don't have to-"

"Lennon," Isaac cut her off, gently putting his hand under her chin and making her look into his eyes. "Trust me, I'm fine. But do you want to do this?"

"Well yeah," Lennon blushed, tucking her hair behind her ears, a blush crossing her cheeks. "But I don't want to push you, or anything." Isaac smiled and cupped his face.

"I'm a 17 year old boy." he smirked. "Trust me when I say you're not pushing me."

"So you're ready? Like, absolutely?" Isaac grinned at her.

"Lennon," he murmured. "Show me what you've got."

* * *

_see? i told you chapter eight was only a few moments away! :) _

_thank you guys so much for the overwhelming support of this story, i cannot say enough how much it all means to me!_

_xoxo_

_k _


	10. Chapter 9

Ch. 9

Waking up next to Isaac was extremely different than waking up next to any of the boys Lennon had been with back in Los Angeles. For starters, Isaac's mouth wasn't open and drooling on her pillows. His face was almost statuesque, and she resisted the urge to trace his jawline. He didn't smother her with his body heat in bed, either. He stayed on his side, occasionally throwing an arm over her waist protectively.

"You're staring." Isaac mumbled, his eyes still closed.

"Well forgive me, I'm not used to waking up to such a handsome man sharing my bed." Isaac blinked his eyes open and grinned.

"You're very beautiful yourself, Ms. McIntyre for this early in the morning." he pulled her over to him and on top of him, pushing her hair back with his hand. "Extraordinarily beautiful." Lennon's face flushed.

"Shut up."

"You're amazing at taking compliments." Isaac laughed. He leaned up and kissed her lips. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"Mmm," Lennon nodded, sitting up, clutching the sheet to her chest. "Let's see, I can make waffles, I can make pancakes, bacon, eggs and sausages."

"All of it." Isaac smirked, stretching underneath her as she laughed. "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."

"Well you're just going to eat me out of house and home, aren't ya?" Lennon leaned over and placed a kiss on his lips.

"I'll eat you out of something, alright." Isaac smirked as she pulled away and Lennon gasped, her eyes wide, but filled with laughter.

"Isaac Lahey!" she gave his chest a slap. "Maybe popping your cherry was a mistake." She got up off of him and went to her chest of drawers, pulling out a matching bra and panty set and got dressed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Isaac prop himself up against the headboard, his hands folded neatly over his chest, watching her. She made a bit of a show putting on the undergarments, tossing her hair a bit more than she normally would. Walking over to her closet, she pulled out a pair of yoga shorts and a tank top pulling them on.

"Isn't it a little cold out for that?" Lennon looked back at Isaac.

"It's more than what you're wearing." she sneered playfully, bending over and picking up his boxer briefs, tossing them at him. "Start getting dressed and I'll start breakfast." Lennon left her bedroom, going down the stairs and into the kitchen. She opened the fridge, taking out eggs, milk, and sausages. She pulled pans from the oven and set them on the stove, turning the burners on waiting for the pans to get hot. Arms wrapped around her waist and she leaned back into Isaac's embrace as his lips met her cheek. He let go and moved to the stove, turning off the burners.

"What are you doing?" Lennon asked, a laugh in her voice as he turned and faced her. His eyes traveled over her body, making her insides melt. Quickly, he grabbed her, sitting her on the counter. He stared up at her for a moment before kissing her lips. Her fingers threaded into his hair as his hands gripped her hips, digging into the same spots as the previous night. Lennon moaned, but pulled back from his lips. "Isaac, what has gotten into you?"

"I think I'm in love with you." he blurted out, his wide eyes studying her face. He needed to say it before it got too late. The words had been bursting inside his chest since dinner last night. Lennon studied his face, her eyes serious, then she broke out into a large smile and kissed him again. His hands ran up and down her bare thighs, his fingers tugging at her shorts.

"Woah, woah, hey," she pulled away, looking down at him. "I love you too, but this is a kitchen counter, and people put food on here. Let's not desecrate it, alright?"

"Yeah," Isaac nodded, but leaned up to kiss her one more time. He pulled away and took her down from the counter, setting her on her feet.

"How hungry are you?" she asked, grabbing his hand. His left eyebrow perked at her tone of voice, and the sly look on his face.

"Very." he answered. Lennon grinned and pulled him with her into the den. It was usually off-limits, being Kevin's mancave and all, but it had the comfiest couch Lennon had ever rested on. She sat Isaac down on it and smirked, moving forward and wasting no time unbuckling his belt and tugging off his jeans. She pushed her own shorts and panties down, then straddled his lap, smiling at him as his breathing picked up in anticipation. Her lips met his, her hands moving from his shoulders to his neck and the back of his head. His hands placed themselves on her waist, underneath the thin fabric of her tank top. Lennon pulled away, resting her forehead against his, and adjusting herself and lowering herself onto Isaac's waiting member.

"Oh shit," Lennon sucked in a shallow breath. She looked up into his eyes, her green locking with his blue. Isaac had this way of looking at her like she was the only thing that mattered. It made the blood rush to her cheeks, and she inwardly scoffed at the fact she was blushing when they were already in such an intimate position. But he could do that to her.

Lennon began moving, slowly, at first. Last night had been rushed and frenzied, both of them excited to be with each other in this new way. She let Isaac take the lead, with just a bit of guidance, and he had surprised her. He was very instinctual, and a bit of a growler, which Lennon had to admit was hot. Lennon brought up a hand and placed it on his cheek, picking up her pace a bit, her hand at the back of her head grasping at the short hairs. Isaac turned his face and kissed the palm of her hand, dragging his lips across her skin and to her shoulder, where he left a trail of open mouthed kisses to her neck. Lennon tilted her head, allowing him more access as she picked up her pace even more.

"Lennon_ fuck,_" Isaac breathed against her skin. "I'm close."

"Me too, baby," Isaac leaned back and grabbed her by the hips, taking over her actions and thrusting his hips up and bringing her down rougher than she was doing herself. Lennon tossed her head back, moaning loudly. Isaac took in the sight of her, much like he had last night when she was writhing beneath him. Her skin had a sheen to it, from the light layer of sweat they had worked up. Her hand was now running through her hair, keeping it back from her face as she bit her lip.

"I'm cumming," she called out in between shallow breaths, "Isaac baby, harder." Isaac snapped his hips up faster and Lennon crashed. "Shit, fuck. Fuck shit." Isaac grinned as he pumped himself harder into her. Lennon had the mouth of a sailor in bed, and he loved it. Isaac quickly reached his peak, the moans and whimpers from Lennon riding out her orgasm sending him over the edge.

The two teens stayed wrapped around each other, grinning and kissing over and over. Finally, Lennon regained her leg strength and stood up, pulling her panties and shorts back on. Isaac tucked himself back into his boxer briefs and pulled his jeans on, buttoning them and buckling his belt. Lennon took his hand and smiled, tugging him out of the room.

"I think I owe you breakfast." she laughed.

"I think _I_ owe you at least three dinner dates."

"Damn right."

* * *

"You know my parents aren't coming home until tomorrow afternoon." Lennon said, leaning against the door frame. Isaac was standing on the front porch, a small bag over his shoulder and a smile on his face. "You can always stay another night."

"I would love to," Isaac murmured, taking her hand and pulling her close. She had changed from her previous clothing to longer yoga pants and a t-shirt sporting her old school's insignia. "But I've got to get dinner ready for my dad." Lennon stayed quiet, but nodded.

"I just don't want you getting hurt." Lennon mumbled under her breath.

"I can handle it." Isaac told her. "Now kiss me goodbye so I can leave." Lennon smiled and hopped up on her tiptoes, pressing her lips against his. "Call me later?"

"Yeah," Lennon licked her lips and nodded again. Isaac pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, then grabbed his bike, bouncing it down the porch steps and taking off. As he pedaled home, his thoughts went back to his previous twenty-four hours. Aside from the sheriff taking his frozen yogurt, everything was perfect. He stopped his bike in the driveway, and dropped it on the lawn. The car was still gone, and Isaac knew he only had an hour or so more before his dad came home from the graveyard, and went inside, directly to the kitchen.

Later that evening, Isaac and his father were sitting at the table. Having prepared a meal of baked pork chops, red skin potatoes, and green beans, and even cracked open a tube of biscuits to bake as well, Isaac was proud of himself. Then again, he'd called Lennon and asked her to walk him through it. Isaac had finished most of his food, his stomach filling quickly and turning when the subject of grades came up. He tore at a biscuit, eating small pieces of the soft, flaky dough.

"Um. . ." he continued to chew and looked down at his plate. "So far, it's an 'A' in French, and a 'B minus' in Econ.

"Oh," Dave looked up from cutting his pork chop, still chewing the last piece he had cut. He stared at Isaac a brief moment and put his eyes back on his plate. "What about Chemistry?"

"I'm not sure." Isaac fiddled with the bread in his hand, tearing off another piece and squishing it between his fingers. "Midterms are in a few days, and Lennon is helping me study. She's really good at Chemistry, so it could go up." he reasoned nervously. Lennon had actually been helping him, even going as far as making him extensive notecards and study sheets.

"Well what's it at now?" Mr. Lahey asked. To anyone else, it'd have been a simple question from a curious father, concerned for his son's academic career. To Isaac, it was a leverage point. If it was a good grade, he'd simply get a rough clap on the shoulder, seemingly a sign of affection, but hiding a warning of what would happen if the grade slipped. If it was a bad grade, it was the excuse Dave needed to lose his temper.

"The grade?" Isaac's eyes flickered from his hands, to his father's face, to the table again. He wished that his brother Camden was still there. Or his mother, who could put out his father's short fuse in an instant with her caring and loving smile.

"Uh, yeah." Dave looked at Isaac like he was a complete idiot. Isaac gulped, shaking his head.

"I-I'm uh, I'm not sure. . ."

"But you just said it could go up. . ." Dave reminded him.

"I just, uh, I meant generally." Isaac rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a small cough, his eyes never leaving the table. Dave paused for a minute, carefully regarding his son, then going back to his plate, cutting up the rest of his meal.

"You wouldn't be lying to me, would you, Isaac?" he asked. Isaac looked up at his father, his deep blue eyes wavering a bit.

"No."

"Then tell me your grade."

"I just told you, I-I don't know," Isaac said again. "Lennon won't let me see it. She says it's not bad, she just wants me to be confident in my grade, and just improve it." Dave rolled his eyes.

"You wanna take this little conversation downstairs?" he asked. "No? Then tell me the grade, _son_."

"Dad, this semester's only half over-"

"Isaac,"

"There's plenty of time-"

"_Isaac,"_ Isaac looked up at his father, who looked exasperated. He already threatened the freezer, and Isaac decided not to bait him any more.

"It's a-It's a 'D'. . ." Isaac sighed.

"All right." Dave set his utensils down precariously on the edge of the plate. "It's a 'D'" He folded his arms on the table. "I'm not angry." Isaac's jaw clenched involuntarily. This was a new side of his father. He wondered if it was a trick.

"You know, I'm going to have to find a way to punish you, though." Bingo. "I have my responsibility as a parent. So we'll start with something simple, like uh. . .Tell you what, you do the dishes and clean up the kitchen, okay?"

What was this? Isaac's father had never acted like this. He was usually a volatile force to be reckoned with, or just uncaring at all. Cleaning up the dishes was something Isaac normally did anyway, this was getting off easy.

"Yeah," Isaac visibly relaxed as his dad picked up his coffee cup, taking a drink. He held it in his hand and smiled.

"Good, because I'd really like to see this place spotless." he tossed the cup to the floor. Isaac watched the white ceramic crack into pieces. "Know what I'm saying? You know?" Isaac's eyes met his fathers, wide and wary now. "I mean, this entire kitchen." Suddenly, Dave sprang forward, his hands on the table, sending everything crashing and clattering to the floor. Isaac jumped back in his seat, completely out of it, cowering toward the wall. Mr. Lahey was laughing now, holding a water glass.

"Yeah, absolutely spotless." he emphasized the word spotless by throwing the glass at the wall above Isaac's head. Isaac threw his arms over his head, tucking his face into his chest. A sharp pain stung under his right eye. A piece of glass lodged in his cheek, blood dripping down his face. He looked up at his father, who was still smiling at him. Isaac reached up, wincing as he pulled the piece of glass out.

"Well that was your fault." Isaac's blood boiled at his father's words. Tonight, he would be a victim no more. He stood up, glaring at his father incredulously.

"You could have blinded me." he curled his hands into a fist at his sides.

"Shut up!" Mr. Lahey rolled his eyes at his overdramatic son. "It's a scratch! It's hardly even-" his father stopped in the middle of his sentence. The blood was receding back into the cut on Isaac's face, the cut sealing itself and disappearing as if it had never happened. Isaac saw his father's gaze and brought up a hand to his cheek, the warm, red liquid completely gone when he brought his hand back down to look at it. Isaac completely had forgotten about that detail from Derek's explanation. Isaac didn't spare another moment, and bolted from the kitchen, and the house itself, his father calling after him. He grabbed his bike and jumped on it, pedaling as fast as he could to the only place he thought to go to. He could hear his dad calling for him down the street, and the car door slamming as he turned the corner of the block.

Isaac got towards the old bus depot, and the sky opened up and started pouring down on him. Isaac quickly turned down the alley way where the entrance to the depot was and jumped of his bike, letting it fall to the ground as he heard his dad's car screech to a halt. He ducked behind the building, knowing if he tried to get into the depot now, his father would see him.

Mr. Lahey was still calling for him through the rain. Isaac tried to calm his heart from beating out of his chest. It was quiet for a few moments, just the sound of Mr. Lahey trying to coax Isaac from his hiding spot. Then it went completely quiet again.

"Holy-!" his dad yelled. Isaac, startled, jumped and peeked around the corner. His dad was running from something chasing after him. Isaac could barely make out what it was, but had an inkling that it was the creature from the cemetery. He watched as his dad made it to the car just in time, getting in and shutting the door. Isaac let out a sigh of relief, but that was quickly stopped when the creature pulled open the door. He watched as his father fought to keep the door shut, but ultimately lost when the thing ripped the door completely off. Isaac pulled back around the corner after the first spurt of blood shot from the car. He waited until it was silent again and peeked around, his father's limbs hanging from the car. He gulped and ran into the bus depot, before whatever got his father found him. He ran through the hall and down the stairs.

"Derek!" he called out, almost slipping on the last step. "Derek! he ran onto the abandoned, rusted out bus.

"What's wrong?" Derek looked up, leaning against the doorway. He watched his beta's terrified face as he caught his breath.

"My dad." Isaac choked out, moving closer. "I think he's dead." Derek stood up immediately and closed the space between them.

"What did you do?"

* * *

_You guys are absolutely wonderful. Every single person who reads this story. I love you all so much! Thank you for all of the support!_

_reviews are lovely and much appreciated! keep 'em comin'!_

_xoxo_

_k_


	11. Chapter 10

_So, I got a review on the last chapter that I'd like to discuss with you all. I love that you guys love this story and the feedback is always amazing and loved. And my writing is up to interpretation. I'd never want to purposefully stifle anyone's imagination and say they're wrong, but I feel that this point that was brought up needs to be discussed. If you don't want to read it, go ahead on to the chapter, I don't mind, but I'm going to let you guys know how I feel about this._

**_"Loved that in 7.5 Isaac immediately thought about txtig Lennon to make sure that she was okay when he saw that ceature! But I don't like that you've kinda written lennon in this chapter as a bit easy …"_**

_First, let me say thank you for taking the time to write a review, it really means the world to me, honestly. I'm glad you like the connection between Isaac and Lennon, it's my favorite one I've ever written! I love your reviews and I love that you love the story, but Lennon is my baby and I have to speak my mind and defend her._

_On to the subject of Lennon being "easy". She's not. Pure and simple. I don't know how old you are, what your morals are, or anything about you other than that you like Teen Wolf fanfiction, but Lennon is not easy. She's a teenage girl exploring her sexuality and not letting societal standards drag her down._

_As a young woman myself, who has been sexually active since the age of 17 (I'm now 21), I see nothing wrong with sleeping with someone just to sleep with them, as long as both parties are of sound mind and consenting adults. My freshman year of college I slept with three guys in one month. None of my friends thought the worse of me, and neither did the guys. No one ever called me a slut or easy or even a whore, because I'm none of those things, because those words have no meaning. Men are allowed and expected to have sex within the first date, but if a woman wants to have sex on the first date, that's not okay? In this chapter Lennon and Isaac have been together for over a month, and she'd had sex before even moving to Beacon Hills. I stand completely by my decision of having her and Isaac hook up. You do what you want to do when you feel the time is right, and for Lennon and Isaac, the time was right._

_Lennon McIntyre has never been "easy". She knows what she wants and when she has it, she doesn't waste time. Open up your mind to the possibility that women have different standards, and that's okay. The last thing any woman should worry about is how people perceive her regarding her sex life. While you're on that, go check out a few books on modern feminism and find out about the double standards in society against women. It'll blow your mind._

* * *

Ch. 10

"Could we have Lennon McIntyre sent to the principal's office, please?" the entire classroom looked up at the intercom and back at Lennon, who furrowed her brow. The teacher waved her out and Lennon gathered her things and left the classroom. The morning had been eventful, to say the least. Lydia had returned to school, finally, and made sure everyone knew that she was not crazy, and that she had lost nine pounds in her leave of absence. Scott and Stiles were again, running around, discussing things that obviously Lennon couldn't know with how they clammed up around her before classes began. On top of all that, she was worried. She called Isaac the previous night, like he had asked, and he never picked up. She left a voicemail, asking if he was okay and that he could call her back when he got a moment. Usually if he missed a call from her, he was working and didn't hear his phone, or he was at lacrosse, and he would promptly call her back.

She walked towards the principal's office and went through the open door. She frowned when she saw Sheriff Stilinski and his partner standing there in full uniform.

"Oh good, Ms. McIntyre." Mrs. Argent smiled at her. "The Sheriff and his Deputy would like a word with you, if you don't mind."

"Um, why?" Lennon looked at her neighbor. He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Have you heard from Isaac recently?" Paul asked her. Lennon shook her head.

"No." she answered. "I mean, yesterday, yeah but not since. I haven't even seen him today, which is really weird because he usually meets me in the parking lot to mak-study. Study last minute." Lennon blushed and looked away at almost admitting her before school makeouts with Isaac.

"When was the last time you talked to him?"

"Well, he left my house around six, and then he called me when he got home so I could talk him through cooking pork chops for the first time." Lennon answered. "Is there something wrong, Sheriff?" Paul studied the young girl, who was looking curiously up at him. "Is Isaac in trouble?" Paul took a deep breath.

"We found the body of Isaac's father last night, ripped to shreds and abandoned near the old bus depot on the outskirts of town." he relayed to her. Lennon's eyes went wide and her hand slapped over her mouth in shock. "Isaac has been missing all night. A witness says he saw Isaac fleeing their house, and Mr. Lahey following him, and he hasn't seen either one since."

"So what-what does that have to do with me?" Lennon asked. Mrs. Argent put a firm arm around the girls shoulder, giving it a supportive squeeze.

"Well, we were hoping that he'd come to you, and you would know his whereabouts." the Deputy chimed in. "Right now, Isaac is our number one suspect."

"What?!" Lennon choked out, flabbergasted. "I-Isaac couldn't murder anyone!"

"I know you think that, Lennon, but some people are capable of anything. And it's usually the quiet ones." Mrs. Argent said. Paul shot her a look and took Lennon from the woman, sitting her down in one of the chairs close to them. He crouched down in front of her and spoke softly.

"Now, I don't know Isaac, but I know you." he said. "In the few months you've been here, I've gotten to know a lot of who you are, and I know that you're someone with a good judge of character. Now I don't want Isaac to be guilty, and I don't want him to be a suspect, but he's all we have to go on, and the evidence is stacked against him."

"I know he didn't do it." Lennon shook her head. "He couldn't. He'd never hurt anyone off of the lacrosse field."

"I can't take your word, Lennon. I wish I could." Paul took her hand in his large, rough one. He held it tightly and looked up into her eyes. "I know this is going to be hard, but Isaac could be dangerous. If he comes anywhere near you, you call me, you hear? Stay away from him, at least until we can clear his name."

"And what if you can't?" Lennon asked, tears rolling down her cheeks. Mrs. Argent came over with a box of tissues and handed them to her, and Lennon dabbed at her cheeks and under her eyes.

"Then Isaac goes away for a very long time." Lennon sighed, and nodded in understanding. There was a crackling over the Deputy's walkie and he stepped out into the hallway. "This is a lot to take in, sweetheart, I know. Do you want us to call your mother? Maybe a day off to let this sink in would be best.

"No, thank you." Lennon shook her head. "Staying here will distract me. Besides, I don't think they're back yet. I just need to try and calm down a bit."

"Okay." Paul nodded, patting the back of her hand.

"Sheriff, we've got word Lahey is here, out on the field with the rest of the lacrosse team." the Deputy rushed back in. "We can go grab him now, if we hurry." Sheriff Stilinski stood up quickly, and Lennon jumped up too.

"Don't hurt him!" she called out after them. They didn't blink an eye back at her. She sank back down into the chair and Mrs. Argent sat in the one next to her, watching her carefully.

"I know this may be tough for you, Lennon." she said, reaching over and grasping the young girls hand. "But think of how strong this will make you in the long run."

"Right now all I can think is that my boyfriend is possibly a homicidal maniac." Lennon deadpanned, staring at the cheap carpeting at her feet.

"Well, why don't you just lay down over there in the nurses station and then once you've calmed down, I'll write you a pass and you can go back to class?" Mrs. Argent asked. Lennon looked at her and nodded, getting up and going into the dark nurses's room, shutting the door, but leaving it a crack open. She flipped on the dim light and sighed, laying down on the starchy sheets of the hospital bed and closed her eyes, willing the past five minutes to be just a dream.

* * *

"So you're saying you knew Isaac's father was hitting him?" Lennon awoke to Sheriff Stilinski's voice. She sat up, squinting in the light of the nurse's office. She moved from the bed to the door, peeking out. The principal's office door was wide open, and Lennon recognized the back of Jackson's head.

"Hitting him? He was kicking the crap out of him." Jackson scoffed.

"Did you ever say anything to anyone?" the Sheriff looked down at him, almost disbelievingly. "A teacher? Parents? Anyone?"

"Nope." Jackson answered, simply. "It's not my problem."

"No, no of course not." Paul nodded. "You know, it's funny that the kids getting beaten up are the ones who least deserve it."

"Yeah," Jackson nodded in agreement, staring past the Sheriff, his eyes beginning to glaze with boredom. He then shook his head and looked up at the officer. "Wait, what?"

"I think we're done here." Sheriff waved Jackson out. Lennon quickly grabbed her bag and opened the door to the nurse's office, stepping out and shutting off the light. Instead of avoiding Jackson, she bumped right into him. His hands grabbed her waist and steadied her, and her hands grasped at his sweater clad shoulders.

"I'm so sorry," she shook her head, backing up and letting go. "I didn't mean to bump into you."

"It's okay. You didn't mean it." Jackson shrugged. Lennon furrowed her brow. Jackson was never this nice. "I mean, if I was dating a loser with newfound passion for murder, I'd be a bit out of whack too."

"Asshat." Lennon shook her head and pushed past him, and went to Mrs. Argent's desk.

"Feeling better?" Lennon nodded and Mrs. Argent wrote her a pass. Lennon thanked her and left, going to class. She sat through the remainder of the day with Allison, Lydia and Stiles. It seemed that the rumor mill had shifted from Lydia's stint as a crazy lady and Allison's aunt to Lennon, the girl dating the guy who possibly murdered his father. The constant whispers and stares annoyed the girls, but they kept up their routine of acting like nothing was wrong for the rest of the day.

"Mom? Kevin? I'm home!" Lennon called as she entered the house. Their car was in the driveway when she pulled up and she was more than ready to receive some hugs. She heard feet thundering towards her and braced herself as Jude ran at her, throwing his arms around her torso and squeezing her tightly.

"Lennon!" he shouted loudly. Lennon leaned over and hugged Jude like she hadn't seen him in years. He pulled away and grabbed her hand, dragging her towards the living room. "Wait until you see what Gramma got me! We even got you something everything is so cool!"

"Oh wow!" Lennon laughed. "You got me a present?"

"Yeah, Gramma helped pick it out and I paid for it all by myself!" Jude grinned proudly.

"Aw punk, you didn't have to get me anything." Lennon ruffled his hair as he reached into his little travel bag and pulled out a small box and handed it to her. Lennon opened it and pulled out a thin chain, with a large, jet black oval stone dangling from it. "Wow, Jude, it's so pretty."

"The lady said it's all the way from Brazil!" Jude informed Lennon. "She said it's a rare stone but it's a good one."

"'Black Jasper, or Blackstone,'" Lennon read the little card that came in the box. "'Promotes vitality and perseverance, and can boost energy when one is running particularly low.' Well I can use all the perseverance I can get." Lennon put the necklace on, the cool stone resting against her chest. "What do you think?"

"I think it's pretty." Lennon leaned over and gave Jude a big kiss on the cheek before blowing a raspberry on it and tickling his tummy. Jude screeched with laughter and Lennon grinned, her love for her brother taking up any room for thoughts about the day.

"Lennon, how was everything while we were gone?" Kevin asked, walking into the room. Her mother was right behind him, smiling at the two.

"It was fine." Lennon shrugged. Her mother was grinning like a fool, and Lennon tilted her head to the side. "Mom, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" the woman chirped, her arm wrapping around Kevin's waist. His arm went around her shoulders and her hugged her close.

"The last time you two were this clingy and smiley. . ." Lennon looked from them down to her clueless brother, who was playing with some small race cars on the coffee table. "No!"

"Yes!" her mother squealed with delight. Lennon grinned and jumped up, running over to them and hugging them tightly.

"Eleanor and I wanted to tell you both together, but it looks like the soon-to-be big brother isn't paying much attention." Kevin shook his head.

"Jude, come here." Lennon beckoned him over. "Hey, so remember how when you were born, I became a big sister, and I promised to protect you an take care of you?"

"Yeah." Jude nodded.

"Well, mom and Kevin are going to need you to do that, okay?"

"Why?"

"Sweetie, you're going to be a big brother!" Eleanor grinned.

"Really?!" The whole family nodded and Jude yelled loudly, running and jumping onto the couch.

"It's safe to say, he's excited." Kevin chuckled.

"I felt the same when you guys told me about him." Lennon grinned at the boy on the couch.

"By the way, sweetheart, the school called us a little bit ago," Eleanor laid a hand on Lennon's arm. "They told us about Isaac, and what's going on."

"Oh,"

"Mrs. Argent was very concerned for your wellbeing, since you're a friend of her daughter." Kevin nodded. "We've decided that we'd like you to stop seeing him. I hope you'll understand that we don't want you getting hurt."

"I don't really have a choice in the matter. He's in jail so, seeing him is not likely." Lennon shook her head. "I just can't believe he's capable of it."

"Sometimes the most unlikely people can do the most horrific things." Eleanor wrapped her arms around her daughter and gave her a tight squeeze. "Why don't you go visit your father this weekend? Get out of the drama for a while?"

"Yeah, I'll call him tomorrow." Lennon nodded. She knew her mother's suggestion was actually an inevitable trip. From years of sitting through the scandal's of her parent's celebrity friends, their immediate defense in their own lives was to go away and wait out the storm. "But just the weekend. I have midterms coming up."

"Of course."

* * *

Isaac placed his palms against the cell wall. He could feel the moon beginning to change him. He took deep, labored breaths. His facial features changed, his jaw sticking out and forming an underbite, keeping his canines from snapping together. His claws scraped the wall of the metal cell, and he could feel his conscious slipping away from him, the animal taking over.

Fully shifted, Isaac's escape became easy. He busted through steel door, moving to the darkest corner of the room as a scuffle was heard outside. He watched as Stiles was being dragged in by a cop, struggling to get away. They both stopped when they looked to the cell, realize the door was wide open and Isaac lunged, taking down the cop, breaking his arm and sending the syringe he had with him to the floor.

The sound of glass shattering caught his ear, and he turned, seeing Derek, his Alpha there, his foot over the syringe. His eyes moved over Derek, then noticed Stiles. Another threat to him. He could vaguely see the image of the boy before him and a young brunette girl, sitting together and laughing, sitting too close for his liking. Isaac growled and began to lunge at Stiles, when Derek roared loudly. Isaac's eyes went wide and he cowered back, moving backwards until he hit the wall and sank down, whimpering as he covered his face and hid himself. He had disgraced his Alpha. Isaac could feel himself returning, and his claws pulled back in, and his jaw receded back to normal. He continued to cower, staring up at Derek in fear.

"How'd you do that?" Stiles asked, looking at Isaac and the Derek in amazement.

"I'm the Alpha." Derek shot him a smug look. "Isaac, we're leaving. Come on." Isaac shakily stood up and nodded.

"Where do you need me to take you?" Stiles asked.

"The old bus depot." Derek answered. Stiles nodded and Derek grabbed Isaac's arm, leading him from the police station and to his caged freedom.

* * *

_what do you guys think? Isaac is now a fugitive! What is that going to do his and Lennon's relationship? Is Lennon going to find out about werewolves and kanimas and hunters? STAY TUUUUUNED! ahaha!_

_your feedback is always, always appreciated and loved!_

_xoxo_

_k_


	12. Chapter 11

Ch. 11

Lennon leaned her head against Stiles' shoulder, watching Scott and Allison climb the rock wall. She'd been having a hard time sleeping since she got back from L.A. The whirlwind of her old friends dragging her out to clubs and parties definitely took her mind off of Isaac now being a missing and wanted fugitive, but the stares and whispers were waiting for her when she came back to school that Monday.

"You okay?" Stiles asked, glancing at her. Lennon nodded.

"I'm just tired." she answered. "Don't ever let me go back to LA without supervision."

"Noted." Stiles nodded. He wrapped his arm around Lennon's shoulder and rubbed his hand up and down her upper arm. "How are you dealing with everything else?"

"I don't really know what else to do but move on." Lennon shrugged. "Isaac is wanted and missing, my mom is pregnant with my second half-sibling, and midterms are next week. I have a lot more to focus on."

"You know if you need anything, you can always come over, right?" Stiles looked down at her tired eyes, which were a dark green and hazel instead of their usual light green with amber flecks. Lennon snorted and lifted her head from his shoulder.

"Yeah, because you're home all the time." Stiles shrugged at her sarcasm.

"Well, I'll be home tonight. Why don't you come over? My dad is going to be at work, so we can hang out, eat some junk food and watch movies." he suggested. Lennon looked up at him and studied his face.

"Yeah, okay." she nodded.

"Stilinski!" Coach Finstock called. "Erica! Let's go." Stiles let go of Lennon and hurried towards the wall. A small blonde girl stepped forward. Her hair looked over-processed, and snarly, and there was an abrasion on her chin. Her wide brown eyes looked up at the rock wall, regarding it with fear. They geared up and Stiles began climbing like a monkey, already halfway up while Erica was still towards the bottom, struggling to raise herself up.

"Is she okay?" Lennon sidled up next to Allison and Lydia.

"I don't think so." Stiles reached the top and repelled down the wall, raising his arms above his head victoriously. Erica was halfway up the wall now, and her body was shaking.

"I think she's hyperventilating." Lennon said. Stiles heard her and turned, looking up worriedly at the blonde. Coach Finstock rushed towards the wall.

"Erica? What's wrong? Are you-Are you dizzy? Is it vertigo?" he asked, watching her cautiously.

"Vertigo's a dysfunction of the vestibular system of the inner ear." Lydia deadpanned. "She's just freaking out."

"Maybe we should bring her down." Lennon suggested.

"Erica?" Coach called up."

"I'm fine!" Erica called back. Her voice cracked and her body was still shaking.

"Coach, maybe it's not safe." Allison chimed in, siding with Lennon. "You know she's epileptic."

"Why doesn't anybody tell me this stuff?!" The coach asked exasperatedly. "Erica! Y-You're fine! Just kick off from the wall. There's a mat to catch you. Come on."

"I hope she's okay." Lennon bit her lip. Erica slowly repelled back to the ground, slipping a bit and grabbing the wall to steady herself.

"See, you're fine." Coach Finstock said to her in a soft voice. "You're on the ground, you're alright. Shake it off, you're fine." Lennon rolled her eyes at Coach's less than soothing phrasing as Erica turned towards the class. She undid her harness and pushed through the group of teens that were now chattering and laughing at her.

"Allison, I'm going to see if she's okay." Lennon said. Allison nodded and Lennon went after Erica who'd gone to the locker room. "Erica?" she heard sniffling and walked into the dank, humid room. "Erica, are you okay?"

"Who are you?"

"I'm Lennon," she answered, as she came upon Erica, who was sitting on the bench in between two rows of lockers. "I'm sorry we haven't met yet, I'm still pretty new here."

"What do you want?" Erica asked, her voice thick from crying.

"I-I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Lennon answered. "One of my friends back home used to get panic attacks and hyperventilated like that. I know seizures and anxiety are different, but I know they're both scary."

Erica stayed silent, wiping her eyes. Lennon sat down next to her and gave her a soft smile.

"Listen, I'm sorry that all those other kids laughed at you. back at my old school, people would've understood, and helped you down and left you alone or made sure you were okay. I'm not really sure what to say about them, but don't let them get to you."

"Well this isn't your old school." Erica snapped. "I'm fine, I've been dealing with this my entire life."

"Oh, yeah, okay." Lennon stood back up. "I just thought I'd be nice and check in on you. If you need anything, let me know, okay?"

"Whatever." Lennon turned and frowned, walking out of the locker room and back to the gym, where everyone else was finishing the rock wall. Afterwards, everyone went to their locker rooms. Lennon had changed her clothes quickly after noting that Erica was no longer in the locker room. She grabbed her bag from the locker and went back out into the gym, where Erica was climbing the rock wall by herself, no harness and no mats beneath her. Lennon rushed forward, and realized that Erica's gasps for air and shaking were her having a seizure. There was no way Lennon would make it across the gym to catch her if she fell.

And right as that thought crossed her mind, Erica's hands lifted from the wall, and she began falling backwards. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Scott running forward, his arms outstretched. He caught her and Lennon ran forward, half the class with her.

"Put her on her side, on her side." Allison knelt next to Scott. Scott rolled Erica to her side, and Erica's seized posture clutched his hand, undoubtedly her mind was searching for an anchor to hold her to reality.

"Call the nurse!" Lennon barked at the Coach, who was staring dumbly. He sprang into action and ran out the door, towards the office. She reached out and smoothed Erica's hair back from her face.

"You're gonna be okay." Lennon said, using the soothing voice she used on Jude when he got upset. She continued to speak to Erica until her body began to loosen. Scott let Erica keep hold of his hand until the nurse got there and helped her stand and took her to the office, where she waited for her mother.

The rest of the day went by in a blur, and before she knew it, Lennon was sitting on Stiles' couch in yoga pants and a tank top, eating the greasiest pizza she could have ever imagined, and drinking root beer. They sat shoulder to shoulder, laughing at the movie on TV.

"i'm sorry, but Mel Brooks is better than Monty Python." Stiles proclaimed, picking up his third slice of pizza. Lennon shook her head.

"Mel Brooks is genius but he's not better than Monty Python." Lennon argued.

"How can you even say that?" Stiles looked at her.

"Mel Brooks spoofs stories that have already happened. The jokes, granted, are original and funny, but Monty Python made up all of their own stuff." Lennon defended. "They rarely used someone else's story."

"Well you know," Stiles shrugged, trying to think up an excuse. "Shut up."

"Gladly." Hours later, Lennon was fast asleep. She snuggled into her firm bed and clutched her blankets around her. She was so lost in sleep that she didn't hear the door creak open, of the heavy boots move across the hardwood floors. A hand rested on her shoulder and she jumped awake, her eyes snapping open. She looked up, seeing Sheriff Stilinski standing over her. She realized that she wasn't at home in bed, but on the Stilinski's couch. More over, on top of Stiles on the Stilinski's couch. It turns out her firm mattress was the boys chest. The DVD player was on the waiting screen, a littler square bouncing around the screen. It cast an eerie glow across the room and Lennon looked up at the Sheriff.

"Why don't you wake Stiles up and go on upstairs?" he suggested. Lennon nodded and sat up, pressing her hand to Stiles' chest and shaking him a bit as the Sheriff walked to the kitchen. Stiles snored loudly, and Lennon pushed on his shoulder this time.

"Stiles, Stiles wake up." she murmured softly. His eyes opened slowly and looked at her, a large goofy smile spreading across his face.

"What are you doing here? I usually get this dream on Wednesdays." he slurred, reaching out for her. Lennon moved his hands away.

"Stiles, come on, we fell asleep on the couch." Stiles opened his eyes wider and looked around the living room. "Your dad is home, he told us to go upstairs."

"Mm, okay." Stiles stretched and got up, taking Lennon's hand and pulling her along with him, up the stairs to his bedroom. He grabbed a pillow and the quilt from the end of his bed and dropped them to the floor, about to lay down.

"Stiles come on," Lennon grabbed his hand. "You can sleep in your own bed, it's fine."

"My dad would kill me if he came in and saw you on the floor." he answered tiredly. Lennon rolled her eyes.

"I said nothing about _me_ sleeping on the floor." Lennon pushed back the comforter on Stiles' bed and got underneath it. "I trust you, Stiles. Maybe not with my life, but with whatever preconceived notions of my virtue that you have. Come to bed." Stiles grabbed the pillow and blanket and tossed them back on the bed and fell face forward on top of it. Lennon laughed under her breath and Stiles moved under the covers, settling in next to her. Lennon smiled and rolled over onto her side, facing his window. She could see into her bedroom, and she smiled being able to see the Ryan Gosling movie poster on the wall in the dark. Her eyes squinted, straining to see anything more. A small, shadowed movement darted across the window, and Lennon stiffened. Suddenly, a pair of yellow eyes were staring back at her from her bedroom.

Lennon blinked and looked again, but they were real, and Lennon sat up and reached back, smacking Stiles' shoulder and looking at him.

"What?" Stiles groaned.

"There's something in my room, look!" Stiles sat up abruptly, leaning over Lennon and looking into her bedroom.

"I don't see anything, Lennon." Lennon turned back, and the eyes were gone. "You must've just seen something reflecting the moonlight." Stiles fell back down onto the bed, pulling Lennon with him. "We can go check in the morning and see if there's any signs of anything, if that makes you feel better."

"Yeah, okay." Lennon answered quietly. Stiles put his arm around her waist and Lennon snuggled into her pillow, falling asleep by reminding herself the Sheriff was just down the hall and that Stiles would at least try to protect her.

* * *

_thanks for all the love guys! i'm so glad you're all liking the story so much! i try to reply to every reviewer i can! (p.s. it helps if you have an account! i can't reply to guest reviewers! and as hypocritical as it is with my last post and the paragraph below, i don't care for distracting from my story with a huge list of replies to reviewers, but just know that they're read and appreciated!) but I love any and all reviews, nonetheless!_

_To the reviewer i responded to in the last chapter, none of what i said meant any offense. If you had read my reply, i clearly acknowledged that my writing was up for interpretation by each individual who reads it, and they are allowed to voice their opinions. I, however, am also allowed to stand by my writing and why I wrote Lennon how I did, and try to explain my intent with her character. Yes, I did say Lennon had slept with boys back home. That plural meaning maybe only two guys, or it could be seven guys, either way, it shouldn't matter at all. It's pretty much a moot point at all, besides providing a bit of background to her ways, but I digress. Of course I still want your thoughts and opinions! A discussion like this one is healthy, and I never meant to be rude or make you feel attacked. I was defending my work, and I got a little heated, trying to explain why Lennon isn't "easy", she's just a teenage girl with hormones that she's in charge of. Again, I'm sorry if you felt attacked and got upset, you absolutely have the right to your opinion, as I have the right to mine and to explain my intentions to try and clear up any miscommunications._

_ANYWAY reviews are love and i love each and every one of you!_

_xoxo_

_k_


	13. Chapter 12

Ch. 12

"You look like crap." Scott said bluntly as Lennon dropped her tray across from him in the lunch room.

"Stiles snores," Lennon grumbled. "Loudly."

"You spent the night at his place?" Scott asked, looking between her and Stiles, who was sitting with Boyd a few tables over.

"We feel asleep watching movies and it was like one in the morning when his dad sent us to sleep upstairs." Lennon shrugged. "Nothing happened."

"Hey, I believe you," Lennon rolled her eyes and tossed a carrot stick at Scott. Stiles plopped down in the seat next to Lennon and grinned.

"Got 'em." he slapped a set of keys on the table. "I'll pick you up right after work tonight and we'll meet at the rink." the boys looked to Lennon and eyed her.

"We were going to invite you," Scott began, fiddling with the carrot stick. "But uh, it's a couple's thing."

"No, I totally understand." Lennon shrugged. "My date is on the lam from the cops, so I'll stay in tonight."

"How are you doing with that, by the way?" Scott asked. Lennon shrugged, chewing a piece of celery dipped in peanut butter.

"Eh, I think I'm more upset I didn't get the chance to bake a file into a cake and try and bust him out." she joked. Neither boys laughed, and she looked at them, their gazes towards the door. Lennon turned and raised her eyebrows in surprise. Erica was strutting into the cafeteria, her usually jeans, sweatshirt and sneakers combo replaced with four-inch cheetah print heels, a shorter than short leather mini, and a white wife beater tank, the fabric straining against her ample chest, which she now had proudly on display. A black leather jacket and red lips as her curled and tamed blonde hair flowed over her shoulders set the picture.

"She got hot. . ." Lennon muttered under her breath, seeing Stiles nod out of the corner of her eye. Erica bent down next to a kid and took a bright red apple from his lunch tray and biting into it, wiping some of the juice from the corner of her lips as she smirked.

"What the holy hell is that?" Lydia asked, placing her hands on the table.

"It's Erica. . ." Scott said, still staring. Erica turned around, walking back out of the cafeteria, taking one last look and bite of the apple over her shoulder before disappearing. Scott and Stiles stood up, immediately exiting the room.

"Pathetic." Lydia muttered under her breath. "She gets a wardrobe, a tacky one, but a wardrobe nonetheless, and the boys run after her."

"Maybe she wanted a change." Lennon shrugged. "I say the more power to her. I hope she finds herself."

"I hope she does too, before this school trades in Macy's for Hot Topic." Lydia gave a grimace and Lennon laughed. Lydia's hopes that Erica's sudden butterfly transformation would die down by the next day were unfortunately squashed. Instead the talk was more insistent, but going silent the moment Erica entered the room or swept down the hallway.

* * *

"God, Stiles, I just," Lennon groaned later that afternoon. "I really don't think Lydia will care as long as you wear clothing."

"Lennon! This is like, my first date with Lydia!" Stiles pulled shirts from his drawer frantically.

"Oh, is Lydia aware of the fact that this is a date?" Lennon quirked her eyebrow. Stiles stopped and stared at the wall for a moment.

"Well we're going with Scott and Allison. . ." Lennon shook her head and stood up, placing her hands on Stiles' shoulders and looking into his eyes.

"Stiles, take it from a girl," she said. "Lydia is having a hard time with Jackson. There are unresolved feelings there. I know about how long your crush has been going on, and honestly, it's the sweetest thing I've ever heard, but trust me when I say you don't want to get into that mess right now. What if Lydia actually reciprocates feelings for you, and Jackson wants her back? She's going to go back to him, and you'll get hurt."

"I know." Stiles looked down at their feet.

"I'm not saying this to hurt you, Stiles. You're one of my best friends here." Lennon bent down to meet his eyes and give him a small smile. "Just go tonight to have fun. Try a triple salchow for me." Stiles grinned and wrapped his arms around Lennon, pulling her into his body tightly for a hug. Lennon hugged back and then pulled away, looking him up and down.

"Wear what you have on. If Lydia doesn't like you for you, then she's not the girl you need." Lennon told him. "But just in case," Lennon rifled through her bag and pulled out a tube of lip balm. "Sorry it's vanilla, it's got SPF in it so it kind of tingles for a few minutes, but it'll make your lips super soft." she swiped the tube across Stiles' lips and capped it. Stiles smacked his lips together.

"Tastes good." Stiles nodded, turning and picking up his clothing from the floor. "Reminds me of winter formal." Lennon tossed the tube back into her bag and hoisted it over her shoulder.

"Yeah, that's because I was wearing that." she cleared her throat. Stiles turned and nodded.

"I'm sorry we never got to talk about that," he said. "But things kind of moved fast with you and Isaac. . ."

"Yeah, I know." Lennon nodded. "And now he's a felon and I'm all alone. He hasn't even tried to contact me. I mean, I know it'd be stupid and it would be the first move the cops expect, but I mean, don't guys usually try?"

"I'm sure he misses you a ton, Lennon." Stiles assured her, walking over and hugging her again. "It'd be impossible for anyone not to miss you."

"Thanks Stiles." Lennon hugged him back and said goodbye, getting to her house just as the bus dropped Jude off. "Hey punk!"

"Lennon!" he ran over to her and hugged her waist and ran up the porch steps. Lennon stopped at the mailbox, pulling out the mail and taking out a small package and the rest of the mail. She sorted through it as she entered the house.

"Hey Jude," she called out, walking into the kitchen where the seven year old was standing in front of the fridge. "Why is your grandma sending me a package? Did you forget something at her house?"

"I dunno." Jude answered. Lennon set down the mail and grabbed the juice he was staring at and poured him a glass. She took a swig from the jug and screwed the cap back on and placed it back in the fridge. She sat at the counter with Jude and opened up the package while he watched.

"Jude did you buy another necklace?" she asked when she took out another small jewelry box. Jude shook his head and Lennon pulled the note out along with it, flipping it open and reading it.

"'Lennon, Kevin told me about how much you liked the Black Jasper necklace Jude brought back for you, and I thought you'd like this one as well. I put in the information about the crystal and some sage to cleanse it with between uses. When you take it off, leave it on your window sill at night. Moonlight energizes it. All my love, Grandma.'" Lennon opened up the box and stared at the small, cloudy silver crystal hanging from a silver chain.

"Ooh, pretty." Jude said, looking at the necklace.

"Your grandma is weird." Lennon shook her head. She picked up the information card and read it. "Silver Titanium Quartz. It increases life force and vitality, attuning to the highest attribute of the Crown Chakra. An exceptional stone for creativity, this quartz removes blockages and enhancing the flow of creativity due to its intensely visual colors. It has been used for increasing intuition and therefore an exceptional stone for promoting clairvoyance as well as all forms of "seeing". Consider this crystal for assisting in meditation, an alternative medicine career or yogic practice. This crystal appears to stimulate the upward movement of the kundalini and is exceptional for any tantric practice."

"What's tantric mean?" Jude asked. Lennon's eyes widened.

"Uh, oh it means, like when um. . ." she gulped and shook her head. "Never mind, drink your juice and start your homework. I'll make you a snack." Jude pouted, but perked up at the promise of a snack. Lennon heated up small pizza bagel in the microwave for them and they both got to work on their homework.

Later that night, after watching at least three episodes of Spongebob with Jude, Lennon went to her own bedroom. She held the small jewelry box in her hand and took out the necklace, setting the box on her vanity. She held the delicate chain in her hand and let the crystal swing like a pendulum before stopping over the center of her palm on her other hand. She studied the stone, holding it up in front of her face. It reminded her of the dull glow of the moon when it was behind the clouds at night. Lennon shook her head, but did as her step-grandmother instructed. She set it back in the box, leaving the top open and setting on the sill of the window where the moon shone the brightest.

Looking up, Lennon saw Stiles sitting at his desk on his computer. She smiled, watching his face of concentration. His eyebrows furrowed together and his mouth was slightly agape, his eyes searching the screen quickly. Suddenly, he looked up, and did a double take. Lennon blushed and gave him a sheepish smile and wave. Stiles grinned and waved back. He reached over and picked something up, glancing up at Lennon and then back down at the object in his hands. A vibration sounded and Lennon pulled her phone from her pocket.

_'Creeper'_

Lennon rolled her eyes and typed back.

_'Just admiring the view. Tell me, what's so fascinating on your computer? Did you find a new porn site?'_ she hit send and waited, then watched as Stiles tossed his head back and laughed.

_'No! Just doing some research for a project. I have to get back to it, but I'll talk to you tomorrow okay? Want a ride to school?'_

_'I'd love one.'_ Lennon sent back. She waved at Stiles, then shut her curtains, making sure the necklace was behind them in the window. She changed for bed and crawled in, tucking herself under the covers, drifting off to sleep with a soft smile on her face.

* * *

_Just a little A/N to say thank you for all the support of this story so far! I know I keep saying this, but it means so much to me! Also, a slight note: Chapter 13 will be kind of pretty much delayed. I know you're all really happy with how constant I update, and believe me, it makes me happy too, but tomorrow I'm going in for surgery, it's nothing bad, just getting my wisdom teeth taken out. But I'll be pretty out of it for the next two days, and then my brother is coming home too, so I'll be hanging out with him a lot. I'm sure I'll have a chapter up by next week, but I just wanted to let you all know what's going on!_

_Again, Love you all!_

_xoxo_

_k_


	14. Chapter 13

Ch. 13

"I think we should tell her."

"Telling her would only get her involved, Stiles." Scott argued. "And I don't know if she could handle that."

"I think she could." Stiles defended.

"And what is Lennon going to do when she learns Isaac is a werewolf? Even if she believes us and understands, what is it going to do to her to find out the guy she's fallen in love with is a monster?" Stiles stayed silent. "Come on, Stiles. This could really hurt her."

"And so could Isaac, or Erica, or Boyd." Stiles hissed. "Or Derek, even. We don't have a choice. Whatever was in the auto shop yesterday was terrifying, and I don't want to see anyone else getting hurt because we couldn't warn them." Scott stared at the dingy tile floor of the hallway. He knew that Stiles was right. Because of Lennon's involvement with Isaac, that could make her a target, either by Derek or something else.

"Where is she now?" Scott asked.

"She's in the arts wing." Stiles said. "Her brother broke her stepdad's camera and she's going to try and get it fixed without ratting him out, or shelling out a small fortune."

"We'll tell her later, okay? Invite her over after lacrosse or something." Scott said. Stiles nodded.

* * *

"Um, hi." Lennon rapped her knuckles again the doorframe of the classroom. A boy with short, brown hair looked up. "I'm sorry to bug you, but I need some help with a camera, and thought the photography class would be the place to find someone. . ."

"Well, the teacher is in the lounge, it's his off hour." the boy said, beckoning her over. "But I'm pretty good with a camera. I could take a look, if you'd like."

"Yeah, if you don't mind." Lennon walked into the classroom, sitting on the stool next to the boy. She took the camera out of her bag and set it on the table top. "Sorry if there's some sticky spots. My seven year old brother got a hold of it, and I tried to clean it off the best I could."

"What did he do to it?" Matt asked, gingerly picking up the device and turning it over in his hands.

"He wanted to take a picture of maple syrup." she deadpanned. "Yeah, he took a whole bottle of maple syrup, squeezed it into a giant bowl, and dropped the camera inside. Luckily I caught him just as he dropped it in, but I haven't been able to turn it on. If his dad find out what he did, he'll go bezerk."

"I'd go bezerk too." the boy chuckled. "This is an eight-hundred dollar camera, and that's on sale."

"Do you think there's any hope for it?" Lennon bit her lip.

"I think so." the boy looked up at her and smiled. "I'm Matt, by the way."

"Oh, I'm Lennon." she shook his hand quickly. "Sorry, my manners seemed to have deserted me."

"It's okay." Matt shrugged. "Anyway, I can give you a list of things to pick up or I can just clean the camera for you, if you want."

"Oh, could you? I don't want to put you out or anything." Matt smiled at her and shook his head.

"It'd be no problem, Lennon. I can have it to you in a week."

"Oh, that's perfect." Lennon grinned. "My mom and stepdad are going on a research trip then and I know Kevin is going to want the camera. How much?"

"How much?"

"Yeah, how much should I pay you?" Matt shook his head again.

"You don't have to pay me."

"Well, I'd like to. It's only right."

"If you say so." Matt smiled. "I'll hold on to this, okay?"

"Yeah. Here's my number, if you need anything or get busy or something." Lennon took out a pen and scribbled her cell phone number on a piece of paper. "Thanks so much for this, Matt."

"It's no problem." The bell rang and they both stood up. "See you around, Lennon."

"You too, Matt." Lennon left the classroom and walked down the hall to her locker, taking out the book she needed and proceeded to her English class as Stiles ran past her. "Hey Speedracer."

"H-Hi." Stiles stopped, huffing and puffing. He placed a heavy hand on Lennon's shoulder and leaned his weight on her, trying to catch his breath. "How's it going?"

"A lot better than it's going for you." Lennon chuckled. "What's going on?"

"Scott and Allison." he rolled his eyes and Lennon followed suit.

"You'd think her parents would just let it go by now." Lennon muttered. "Here, this'll help." she handed him a water bottle and he opened it, quickly guzzling the contents.

"Thanks." Stiles smiled. "Hey, do you want to hang out after the game tonight?"

"I can't." Lennon frowned. "It's just me and Jude tonight, and I've got to help him with a solar system project. We're making it out of candy. It's going to be great." she smiled.

"Can I come over and help or something?"

"That's really sweet, but you'll probably be tired." Lennon gave him a smile. "And to be honest, I'm not allowing anyone remotely fun near Jude until that camera is fixed and back in Kevin's possession. He's only going to the game because his coach wants him to watch the high school games. But I'm not letting him sit near his friends."

"You're a vicious tyrant."

"I know." Lennon smirked. "I'll see you later, Stiles." Lennon turned and continued to class, leaving Stiles to catch his breath by himself.

* * *

"Lennon, can I please go sit with Cody?" Jude tugged on Lennon's arm as they moved towards the risers on the side of the field.

"Nope." Lennon shook her head. "Just because mom and Kevin don't know about the camera doesn't mean you're going to go unpunished. You're sitting next to me. Be happy I bought you popcorn." Jude huffed and followed her to the stands. "Hey Mrs. McCall! Mind if we sit with you?"

"Not at all, sweetie." Melissa scooted over on the bench and Lennon and Jude sat down. "Who's this?"

"This is my brother Jude." Lennon nudged him and he waved, a grumpy frown on his face. "Forgive his lack of manners, he's upset because I won't let him sit with his friends."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Jude." Jude shrugs and Lennon pinched his arm. "Anyway, how are you Lennon? It's been a while since I've seen you. I've been worried ever since Scott told me Isaac broke out."

"I'm good." Lennon smiled. "I mean, it sucks, obviously. Your boyfriend is accused of murder and breaks out of jail and disappears, it's pretty bizarre. But I mean, what can I do? I just have to move on." Melissa wrapped an arm around Lennon's shoulders and hugged her to her side, her maternal instincts flowing over to the girl, making her feel better. "I'm lucky, that I have a great group of friends to help me with that."

"Yeah, I've heard you and Stiles have been hanging out quite a bit." Melissa gave her an amused smile and Lennon rolled her eyes.

"Stiles and I are just friends, Mrs. McCall." she insisted. "He's my neighbor, of course I'm going to hang out with him a lot."

"He's a really great guy." Melissa reasoned. "And while doing my duty as a parent I may have overheard him talking about you with Scott. And perhaps the fact that he thinks you're absolutely wonderful was admitted out loud."

"He's in love with Lydia." Lennon shook her head. "I can't compete with someone he's loved since the third grade, Melissa. And even if I wanted to try, I would just feel like second prize. . .not to mention that I'm not sure where things are with Isaac. There hasn't been an opportunity to talk to him about it, obviously."

"Do you still like him?" Melissa asked. Lennon looked down at her gloved hands in her lap, then looked up and nodded.

"I love him." she admitted, tears suddenly threatening to spill from her eyes. "I don't know what to do." Melissa pulled Lennon tighter to her side and hugged her, gently rubbing her back.

"You're going to be the brave young woman that you are, and you're going to get on with your life." Melissa told her. "Maybe it'll take a little while, but you're going to be fine."

"Thanks Mrs. McCall." Lennon grinned and Melissa nodded. They settled in to watch the game Beacon Hills winning until Coach Finstock pulled Boyd from the crowd to play. "So did you get the night off?"

"No, just enough time for the game. I've got a shift after this but it's only a half of one." Melissa nodded, watching as Scott caught the ball and ran towards the opponent's net, shooting the ball past the goalie, winning the game, but being taken down by "The Abomination." Melissa and Lennon stopped cheering when they heard the crack from out on the field, and rushed down the bleachers. Scott was laying on his back, his right leg twisted. Allison was already next to him, looking him over as the rest of the team and a few fans rushed around him.

"I'm fine!" he announced as Coach Finstock, Melissa and Lennon cut through the crowd. "I'm fine."

"I could've sworn I literally heard bone breaking from where I sat." Melissa looked her son up and down.

"Heard it?" Coach Finstock said. "I felt it."

"Seriously guys, I'm fine." Scott insisted, putting all his weight on both feet. Lennon looked at Melissa and shrugged, taking Jude's hand and tugging him out of the crowd.

"Lennon! I want to stay longer!" he whined.

"Jude, the game is over, Scott is fine." she scolded. "We're going home and starting your science project." but as she left, she hoped to bump into Stiles, and tell him to come on over anyway, but he was nowhere to be seen. He hadn't been in the swarm around Scott, and his Jeep was still in the parking lot when Lennon got to her own car. Sighing, she drove home and helped Jude with his project until it got too late, and sent him to bed, cleaning up and getting ready for bed herself. She logged onto her laptop and onto facebook, updating her status and accepting a few friend requests, including one from Matt.

Going onto his page, Lennon clicked through the photos, and smiled. Most of them were of lacrosse games, and pictures from vacations, but they were amazing quality. She closed out the window and shut down her laptop, leaving her room and checking on Jude, who was now fast asleep. Lennon walked back into her bedroom, and shut off the light, but not before checking out her window. Stiles' room was pitch black, and she felt guilty at how her stomach fell a bit at that fact. She flipped her light switch down and laid down in her bed, pulling the quilt up to her chin and letting her thoughts race until she fell asleep.

* * *

_I'm so happy you guys. I got my teeth out yesterday, and after a few hours of being sleepy, loopy, and grumpy and in pain, I'm pretty much great! I barely have any swelling or pain or anything! So I was determined to get you guys a Chapter 13, and low and behold, the whole thing was written in a day! _

_I want to say thank you for all of your wishes of good luck and health! You're all so wonderful to me, and thank you for understanding the possibly delay. I am, however, about to warn you for another one. My brother and I are going to be running a 5k Sunday with all these crazy obstacles for St. Judes, and tomorrow is going to be a prep day and his fiancee is coming down tonight, so I'm going to be with her and him tomorrow and Sunday. But Monday I'll be 100% back and writing and will have a chapter either then or Tuesday! _

_Thanks so much for the reviews and favorites and follows so far! I honestly can't get over how well everyone is responding to it. I've been trying to reply to everyone I can! I love you guys!_

_Reviews are love!_

_xoxo_

_kate_


	15. Chapter 14

Ch. 14

Isaac turned as the door to the basement opened up. Erica was proudly dragging Jackson down the rickety staircase. He was struggling, but the built star of the lacrosse team was no match for Erica's newly-found werewolf powers. Isaac met her at the bottom of the staircase, smiling smugly and grasping Jackson's left side, helping hold him in place as they brought him closer to Derek. Derek sat on the dilapidated step of the broken down bus. He was holding a piece of glass in his hand, a remnant of the previous night.

"What happened to you on the night of the full moon?" the Alpha spoke. His voice was quiet, and his gaze focused on the shard in hand.

"What?" Jackson furrowed his brow. "Nothing. Nothing happened." he glared at Derek. Derek looked up curiously, taking in the young man's features.

"You're lying." Derek sighed. He set down the piece of broken glass, but only momentarily as he reached for a black leather glove, pulling it onto his hand as Jackson protested.

"No wait! No wait, I-I can. .I can prove it!" he began to struggle again, and Isaac and Erica tightened their grip on him, pulling his arms back behind his body. "I taped myself." Isaac couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"You taped yourself?" he asked in a mocking tone. Jackson directed his icy glare towards him now.

"Yes. It was the full moon." Jackson informed him. "And maybe while you were curled in the corner having and existential crisis about turning into a monster, I was preparing for the so-called gift your big, bad Alpha promised me. And what did I get? Nothing." Jackson ripped his eyes from Isaac's and looked back at Derek. "You want proof, let me get the video."

Derek made a show of thinking for a moment, then shook his head.

"No." he picked up the long, jagged piece of glass again and flashed it towards the teen. "No, I have a better idea." Jackson's eyes widened, and terrifying thoughts of his throat being slashed or his chest being stabbed rushed through his mind.

"What is that?" he asked. Suddenly, Isaac and Erica had pushed him to his knees, their hands digging into his shoulders, palms weighing him down. Derek stood up, taking his time in walking forward, gently and carefully turning the glass over in his hands a few times, his eyes trained on Jackson's. Isaac reached out and grabbed Jackson's jaw, forcing the young man to open his mouth.

"You know Jackson, you've always been kind of a snake. . ." Derek told him. "And everyone knows a snake can't be poisoned by its own venom." Derek moved forward and Jackson tried to scoot back, but Isaac and Erica held him in place. Derek came closer and tilted the glass shard towards the boys chiseled features. A translucent serum dripped off the pointed edge and onto Jackson's tongue. Isaac shut Jackson's mouth, forcing him to swallow it and he and Erica quickly stepped back, letting the teenager fall to the floor. His body seized for a few moments, then became completely immobile. Derek looked around and sighed, his solution a dead end. He moved forward again and crouched down, looking Jackson in the eyes one final time.

"You're still a snake, Jackson." he muttered. "Just not the one we're looking for." he stood up and went onto the bus, dropping the shard of glass as he went. Isaac looked back and stepped forward, bending down to eye level with Jackson, a smile on his face.

"You're still gonna have to do one more thing for us." he said. "Well, actually, for me." he gave him a wink and stood up again, laughing to himself as he entered the bus.

"Coming back to school, huh?" Erica asked, leaning against a handrail. Isaac nodded.

"Yup. Finally back in action." Isaac grinned. "It'll be nice to roam the halls again. See some familiar faces."

"Isaac, you'll have to end it." Derek said, walking up the bus towards the younger boy.

"End what?" Isaac asked, although he knew from the twist in the pit of his stomach. He'd acted like it hadn't bothered him to leave Lennon behind. To try and completely ignore the relationship. He'd wanted to write her a thousand messages, carve their initials into a tree, send her a vase of flowers, something to let her know he was there, but Derek had adamantly put his foot down on anything to boy tried to do. "I'm not a fugitive anymore."

"You know what I'm talking about." Derek locked his green eyes with Isaac's blue, and Isaac looked away. "If you care about her, you'll leave her alone."

"I've been leaving her alone." Isaac snapped his head back towards Derek. "I've left her alone, and all she's done is stick around with Scott and Stiles! How would being with me be any worse?"

"You could get her killed, Isaac." Derek's tone wavered slightly. Erica looked between the two of them, but she stayed where she was. "We're dangerous. If you haven't noticed, there's another creature running around trying to take us out, not to mention the Argents. If someone or something thinks she's in the way, do you think they'd hesitate to think twice before killing her?"

"I can keep her safe!" Isaac growled. Derek's face went rigid and his eyes began to glow red.

"This isn't some high school game, Isaac." his words passed through gritted teeth. "Your petty jealousy means nothing. You'll both move on with your lives. Now go get Boyd and take Jackson home." Isaac glared at Derek before storming out of the bus. Erica pushed herself off the handrail and went to follow when a hand gripped her upper arm.

"Yes, Derek?" she asked, her caramel brown eyes looking up at his.

"Make sure he doesn't sneak away tomorrow." Derek murmured to her. "Whoever this girl is, she's going to be lethal for him."

"Gotcha." Erica smiled and pulled away, following Isaac and Boyd, supervising as they carried Jackson's immobile body up the stairs and to Derek's car.

* * *

Stiles flew down the hallway, barely making it into his seat in the English classroom. He leaned forward towards Scott, grabbing his attention.

"Dude, I just talked to my dad who just talked to Jackson, and I've got some really terrible, horrible, very, very bad news." he gasped.

"I think I already know." Scott nodded his head over to the side, and Stiles followed his eye line. Isaac was sat there, a small trace of a smirk on his face as he glanced at them from the corner of his eye.

"We have to warn Lennon." Stiles murmured. Scott shook his head.

"Something tells me she already knows." both boys looked up to see the girl staring directly at Isaac. She was clutching her binder and book to her chest, her bright green and hazel eyes suddenly wide and dim, confusion and pain running through them. After being jostled by a few other students filing in the room, she walked over to the empty seat in front of Scott and sat her things down, barely chancing a glance at Isaac, who now seemed too preoccupied in the midterm review being handed out to notice her.

Lennon felt like her head was going to explode. How could she possibly focus on finding the predicate nominative of a sentence when her jailbird boyfriend was sitting next to her, seemingly appearing out of thin air? Wasn't she supposed to get a letter or phone call alerting her or something? Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him scribbling notes on paper, glancing up at the board every once in a while. Suddenly, a note dropped onto her desk. Lennon slipped her hand around it and gingerly unfolded it, reading the messy scrawl.

_'Hey, you okay? - Stiles'_ Lennon picked up her pen and wrote back.

_'I'm fine. Let me study.'_ she folded the note and handed it back to Scott, who gave it to Stiles. After that, she ignored their antics. Once the bell rang, she finished writing down the suggested study material and bolted. Unfortunately, she bolted right to chemistry, which not only had Isaac, but the new and improved Erica as well. Lennon sat in her seat next to Danny and gave him a sheepish smile. He gave her a concerned one and she had to fight to not roll her eyes. Even he was feeling bad for her now that Isaac was back.

"If you need me to beat him up, I will." Danny leaned over and whispered. Lennon gave him a genuine smile.

"It's not a big deal, Danny." she shrugged. "I'm fine. But thank you." Danny nodded opened up his notebook. There was a bit of scuffling and everyone turned, seeing Scott and Stiles race towards the desk where Lydia sat. Isaac and Erica sauntered in from the back of the class, sitting behind them as Allison sat adjacently.

"Einstein once said 'Two things are infinite: The universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe.'" Mr. Harris began. There was a collective eyeroll in the classroom as he stopped next to Stiles, clapping a hand on his shoulder "I myself have encountered infinite stupidity."

_'Why is this guy such a douchebag?'_ Lennon thought to herself as Stiles frowned.

"So to combat the plague of ignorance in my class, you're going to combine efforts through a round of group experiments." he explained. "Let's see if two heads are indeed better than one. Or in Mr. Stilinski's case, less than one."

_'Okay, at this point, that's a harassment lawsuit.'_ Lennon shook her head, glaring at the teacher.

"Erica, take the first station. You'll be paired with-" there was a commotion, and at a glance, all the guys in the room, save Isaac, Scott, Stiles and Danny were throwing their hands in the air at the chance to be paired with the new and improved girl. Even a few girls were throwing themselves into the mix. "I didn't ask for volunteers. Put your hormonal little hands down." Erica looked around smugly, her eyes dancing with laughter.

"Start with Mr. McCall." Mr. Harris directed. Erica's eyes danced over to Allison, narrowing a bit before Mr. Harris went through and paired up the rest of the class. Lennon smiled a goodbye to Danny and cleared a spot for her new partner, who just happened to be Isaac.

"Hi honey." he grinned at her and Lennon gave him a weak smile. "Miss me?"

"You know I have." Lennon shook her head, leaning over to read the instructions. Isaac leaned too, his leather-clad arm resting against hers. Even with the layers of material dividing their skin, Lennon could feel goosebumps rising on her flesh. "Where have you been?"

"Around." Isaac smirked at her. Lennon looked up at him took in his appearance. His skin still had it's pale look to it, but it had a healthier glow. He didn't seem in need of a meal or dirty, like she had thought he'd come back as. Instead he looked healthy and like he had gone on a shopping spree. Shaking her head again, she turned back to the chemistry set in front of her beginning the lab. Isaac didn't say anything more, and neither did Lennon. They worked on the lab until Mr. Harris called switch, and Isaac stood up, moving to Stiles' desk, while Scott switched to Lydia's, taking Allison's seat.

Stiles sighed and turned, looking at Isaac, who was nonchalantly leaning against the desk, twirling a piece of metal. Isaac looked up and met his gaze, raising a challenging eyebrow. Stiles broke the stare and reached out, unscrewing the cap on a bottle and continuing the experiment.

"If you harm one perfect strawberry blonde hair on her head, I'm gonna turn your little werewolf ass into a fur coat and give it to her as a birthday present." he deadpanned, trying his best to contain his anger. Isaac only looked thoughtful and amused.

"Really?" he laughed. "I've never actually been to one of her big, invite-only birthday parties. . .I did ask her out once, though."

"Sounds like the beginning to a heartfelt story." Stiles grumbled. "I'm gonna pass, thanks." but Isaac continued talking.

"It was the first day of freshman year. . ."

"And you thought everything was gonna be different for you in high school, but she said no." Stiles finished the sentence for him.

"Yeah," Isaac chuckled. "Yeah, she even laughed. Told me to come back when the bike I rode to school had an engine not a chain."

"Mm, unrequited love's a bitch." Stiles stirred the liquid in the beaker. "Maybe you should write about it in English class, you know? Channel all that negative energy."

"Nah, I was thinking I'd channel it into killing her." Isaac looked over and grinned at Stiles. "I'm not very good at writing. Besides, Lennon helps me with English, and we're a bit estranged as of late." Stiles opened his mouth to say something, following Isaac's gaze to the girl who was slapping Greenberg's hands away from the beakers, when Mr. Harris called the switch. Lennon watched as Isaac sidled over to Lydia's desk, the definite swagger in his step making her stomach twist.

This wasn't her Isaac. This wasn't him at all. The leather jacket, the tight jeans, none of them were the young man she'd fallen in love with. They were a facade. Something or someone had gotten a hold of him and changed him. And Lennon didn't like this new version of Isaac at all.

After getting Danny back in his seat and finishing the lab, Mr. Harris called the end to the experiment, saying the crystal that they'd produced was edible. Danny used his lacrosse-made muscles and snapped it in half, handing a piece to Lennon, who smiled as they clinked together their shares and began eating.

"Lydia!" heads turned as Scott jumped from his seat just as Lydia was about to put the crystal Isaac handed to her to her lips.

"What?" she asked, looking at him as if he'd grown three heads. Scott looked around as he slowly sat back down.

"Uh, nothing. . ." he shrugged. Lydia rolled her eyes and turned forward again. She bit into the crystal and Lennon and Danny exchanged looks.

"I don't know why you hang out with them." he shook his head.

"They're fun. They keep things interesting." Lennon smiled at him, biting into her crystal. The bell rang and class cleaned up and was dismissed. Isaac waited for Erica before leaving the classroom, and Lennon gathered her things.

Lennon moved quickly from the desk, finally plucking up the courage to talk to Isaac. She swiftly followed him out the door and was hot on his heels until a leather clad arm shot out, stopping Lennon in her tracks.

"Hi," Erica smiled sweetly at the brunette, who sighed impatiently. "We haven't had the chance to talk since my incident in gym the other week."

"I didn't realize we had anything more to discuss, Erica." Lennon focused on the girl in front of her.

"Oh we have _plenty_ to discuss." Erica smirked. "He's something, isn't he?"

"Who?" Lennon asked impatiently.

"You know who." Erica giggled as if they were best friends talking about their crushes. "Isaac. He's just so sweet and caring. Hell of a kisser." Lennon's jaw tightened. "Oh, you didn't think he was going to spend all his time on the run alone, did you?"

"And you just happened to know where he was to soothe his pain?" Lennon asked, clenching her fist by her side. Erica looked her up and down slowly, her tongue tracing her teeth carefully.

"I see what he was talking about," Erica stepped back and gestured to Lennon. "You've got a great body. One I might've envied a few weeks ago." Lennon crossed her arms over her chest, feeling violated by Erica's roaming eyes.

"Erica, what do you want?" Lennon glared at her. Erica's taunting demeanor changed to a violent one.

"Stay away from Isaac." she hissed. "He's not yours. Not anymore. If I see you anywhere near him, I'll rip your eyes from your head."

"I think Isaac can speak for himself, Erica." Lennon grit her teeth.

"He can, he just doesn't want to. Why waste another minute with someone like you when he already has me?" Erica stepped forward, leaning in so her mouth was next to Lennon's ear. "Besides, he's not all that into talking when we're together." she pulled back and grinned wickedly, turning and strutting down the hallway, lifting a hand and running it over the impeccably glossy waves that cascaded down over her shoulders. Lennon watched her disappear and bit her lip, quickly moving to her locker. She grabbed her jacket and stuffed her books into her bag and pulled it over her shoulder. Suddenly a hand wrapped around her elbow and pulled her into the hallway. She reached out and slammed her locker shut as Allison dragged her down the hall.

"If we're doing a study group, why didn't we just stay in the library?" Lydia asked as Allison let go of Lennon. Lennon straightened her posture and sped up her pace to keep up, falling in step with Jackson.

"Because we're meeting up with someone else." Stiles explained.

"Hmm, well why don't they just meet us in the library?"

"Oh, that would've been a great idea!" Stiles grinned, then shrugged. "Oops, too late."

"Okay, hold on-"

"Lydia, shut up and walk." Jackson insisted rudely, pushing her forward. Lennon followed everyone out and piled into the Jeep with them.

"Uh, thanks for inviting me to the study group?" she said as she sat down in the back with Lydia. Allison turned and smiled quickly.

"No problem. You looked like you could use some time in a group of friends." Stiles turned on the Jeep and they left the school, Lydia turning and looking back at the parking lot and school as if something were amiss.

* * *

_there you have it folks! chapter 14! hope it doesn't disappoint! _

_i want to thank you all for the overwhelming support and kind well wishes through my recovery process! it was definitely a doozy! it means a lot that you guys care enough about me and about the story to send me get well messages! :)_

_reviews are love!_

_xoxo_

_k_


	16. Chapter 15

Ch. 15

"If we're studying at Scott's house, then where is Scott?" Lydia asked as everyone walked up the steps to the McCall household.

"Meeting us here, I think." Stiles muttered. "I hope. . ."

"Thanks." Allison shot a glance back to Jackson, and Lennon furrowed her brow.

"I needed to talk to her anyway." he replied. Stiles unlocked the door and ushered everyone inside, quickly shutting and locking the door behind them. Lennon and Lydia exchanged looks and directed their eyes to Stiles, who shrugged.

"Uh, there's been a few break-ins around the neighborhood." he explained. Suddenly he looked around a breezed past Lennon, grabbing a chair from the entryway to the living room and shoving it under the doorknob. "And a murder. Yeah, it was bad."

"Well, that chair there makes me feel a lot better." Lennon sighed, twirling the silver quartz necklace idly. Allison looked over and locked eyes with Lydia, nodding her head towards the staircase. Jackson sighed inwardly.

"Lydia, follow me." he spoke. "I need to talk to you for a minute."

"Seriously?" Lydia rolled her eyes and followed Jackson. "What is going on with everyone?" Lennon turned to Allison and Stiles.

"This isn't a study group, is it?" she asked, looking between the two of them.

"Uh, well um. . ."

"No, it's not." Allison stepped forward. "But we need to keep Lydia here. Someone is after her."

"Who?" Lennon asked. Allison and Stiles exchanged looks.

"Derek Hale." Stiles said. Allison nodded and turned, looking out the small window beside the door. "And a couple of his friends."

"What do they want with Lydia?"

"It's complicated, and we'll explain later." Allison turned back. "But she doesn't know they're after her, so don't say anything to freak her out."

"Shouldn't we call your dad, Stiles?" Lennon's palms began to get clammy with slight fear.

"Trust me, he can't do anything with this mess." Stiles shook his head. Allison peeked out the window again and turned back quickly.

"They're here." she held out her hand. "Stiles, give me your phone."

"Okay." Stiles dug into his pockets and took out his phone, placing it into Allison's waiting palm.

"It's me. You need to get here, now." Allison spoke immediately when Scott picked up.

"Right now." Stiles added, looking out his window. Lennon moved forward to look, but Stiles put an arm out and pushed her back, gently. "Look, the less people he knows are here, the less people hat have to get hurt. Stay away from the windows, okay?" Lennon looked into Stiles' eyes, seeing a mixture of authority and fear. She nodded and laced her hand with his, giving it a quick squeeze before letting go and stepping back. He gave her a soft smile and turned back.

"Scott's on his way right now." Allison said, handing Stiles' phone back. She walked over to her large bag on the floor and unzipped it, pulling out a crossbow.

"Holy shit, Allison!" Lennon stepped back. "Do you just carry that around everywhere?"

"I have a permit." Allison shrugged. "But no, and I'll explain later, I promise."

"Okay, I get that, but something is going on," Lennon looked at the two teens in front of her. "And I at least can help. What can I do?" Allison nodded as she rifled through the bag and stood up, walking over to Lennon. "Take this." she handed Lennon a medium size dagger, the handle had a small hold on the end, where Lennon's index finger slipped in. "Do you know how to use it?"

"Um, no?" Lennon gulped. Things were getting just a bit too serious for her. "But I think I can figure it out." Allison nodded and moved back to the window.

"Lennon, now that you're armed and dangerous, you wanna check the back door in the kitchen?" Stiles asked. Lennon nodded and turned on her heel, and went down the dark hall. "Don't turn on the lights!" Allison peeked out the window at Derek and his pack and sighed, looking down at her phone.

"I think. . .I think I need to call my dad." she said, looking at Stiles. Her voice was small, and scared.

"No, but if he finds you here-you and Scott-"

"I know." Allison grimaced, on the verge of tears. "But what are we supposed to do? They're not here to scare us, okay They're here to kill Lydia."

Lennon sighed as she entered the McCall's kitchen. She walked over to the back door and looked out the small window, standing on her tiptoes to peer out. She reached her hand up and slid the deadbolt in place. A rustling noise sounded off to her right and she spun, clutching the knife in her fist, bringing it up to her chest and pointing the sharp end away from her. Lennon walked forward a few steps, looking out into the dining room. Suddenly, arms wound around her waist and around her shoulder, a large hand covering her mouth as she gasped in the dark room, completely forgetting about the weapon in her hand.

"It's me, it's okay." Isaac whispered in her ear. Lennon's heart was racing from the scare and her nerves were jumpy. "Promise me you won't scream when I let go." Lennon nodded and Isaac moved his hand away from her mouth slowly. She turned around as he took the knife from her hand and set it on the counter.

"Isaac, wha-" Lennon looked at the young man in front of her. Suddenly, her back was against the wall, and his lips were crushed against hers. His hands roamed her body, pulling her towards him and keeping her in place as her hands moved up to cup his face. The past few weeks of excommunication and solidarity from him broke, and waves of emotions crashed over the two of them. Lennon felt a small spot on her chest heat up and tugged herself closer to him. After a few more moments of their passionate embrace, Isaac pulled away, his eyes lidded as he rested his forehead against hers. The moonlight reflected brightly off Lennon's pendant and Isaac's breathing became labored. He looked up, looking around quickly, before grabbing Lennon. He opened the door and found the McCall's pantry, and tossed her in there, a bit more forcibly than he'd have liked to.

"Whatever you do, don't come out of this room. Not until someone comes to get you." he ordered gruffly between shallow breaths. Lennon looked up at him puzzled and lifted a hand to her mouth in horror to see Isaac's eyes glowing a bright amber color. His face was beginning to shift and contour and her lungs were working on gathering enough oxygen to scream when he shut the door and put a chair up against it, leaving Lennon in the cramped, dark pantry.

"I have an idea," Stiles whispered to Allison. They hadn't moved from their positions by the door, only fidgeted around in place. "Just shoot one of 'em."

"Are you serious?" Allison asked in disbelief.

"We told Scott we could protect ourselves, so let's do it." Stiles reasoned. "Or at least give it a shot, right?" Allison studied Stiles' face for a moment, then turned back to gaze out the window.

"Okay." she murmured, unconvincingly.

"Look, they don't think we're gonna fight, so if one of them get hit, I guarantee they'll take off." Stiles assured her. "So just shoot one of them." Allison glanced from Stiles to the window, where she pulled back the thin, gauzy curtain and looked out, sizing up her options.

"Which one?"

"Uh, Derek?" Stiles suggested, the adrenaline from the situation beginning to speed up his heart rate. "Yeah, shoot him. Preferably in the head."

"If Scott was able to catch an arrow, Derek definitely can." Allison shook her head.

"Okay, uh, just shoot one of the other three then." Stiles tossed his hands up in the air.

"You mean two." Allison corrected. Stiles' jaw dropped.

"No, I mean three." he rushed forward and tore back the curtain, looking Boyd, Derek, and Erica right in the face. "Where the hell is Isaac?" Allison dropped the curtain and backed away from the window, raising her crossbow and taking aim at the pack. A hand grabbed her arm and spun her around, knocking the crossbow from her hand, the person sending her to the floor in the living room. Isaac turned on Stiles, grabbing him and throwing him into the dining room, making him crumple up the runner on the floor as he slid across it. Stiles backed up as Isaac approached him, his eyes glaring yellow and his teeth shaping into the large, wolf canines. Stiles looked behind him at Allison, who was struggling to get up, and wondered where Lennon was. Surely she had to have heard this commotion. Even Jackson and Lydia couldn't be so self-absorbed that they'd ignore the sounds of struggle.

Allison got up to her feet and looked up the stairs, nodding to Stiles and going up to check Lydia. Stiles looked up at Isaac as he lifted a foot, kicking him over onto his stomach and reaching down, putting a clawed hand to his back and dragging him across the floor some more. Stiles put up as much of a fight as he could until Allison came barreling down the stairs, shooting an arrow at Isaac. He whipped around and caught it, baring his teeth and growling, snapping the arrow in two in his palm. The pieces dropped to the floor, and momentarily his body followed suit. Scott stood behind his fallen body, panting and glaring with his own set of yellow eyes.

"Where is everyone?" he asked as his wolflike features faded.

"Lydia is upstairs. We don't know what happened to Lennon or Jackson." Stiles said.

"I didn't see him when I went to find Lydia." Allison informed Scott.

"Stiles, go find Lennon. Allison, go get Lydia and Jackson. Is Isaac the only one who got in?"

"Erica is upstairs. The kanima was here. I used his venom on an arrow and paralyzed her."

"I'll come grab the body." Scott and Allison took off upstairs and Stiles raced back to the kitchen.

"Lennon?" he called out.

"I'm in here!" she slammed her palm against the door a few times and she heard scuffling outside of it. The door opened and suddenly light poured in. Lennon barreled into Stiles' open arms, and he stepped back a bit in shock before wrapping his arms around the girl. He bent his head down and rested his chin on top of her head.

"Is Lydia okay?" she asked, her throat thick with tears she was trying to hold back.

" Yeah, Lydia's fine." he murmured, rubbing his large hands up and down her back. "It's okay, Lennon. It's okay."

"Not it's not." Lennon pulled back and looked at him, tears brimming in her eyes. "I don't know what I saw tonight, but I need to know what's going on, Stiles. Isaac was d-deformed! His eyes were yellow! He locked me in a pantry!"

"I know," Stiles pressed his lips into a thin line. "I know, and I promise that once the coast is officially clear, we'll explain everything to you. Scott's here now, okay? He's here, and everything will be okay." Lennon looked up and locked eyes with Stiles. They gazed into each others' eyes for a few moments before Lennon nodded. She looked around him and moved to the counter, picking up the dagger and securing her finger through the handle before following Stiles out into the front hall, where Allison had opened the door, and Scott was tossing Isaac and Erica's bodies out onto the front lawn. He stepped out onto the wooden porch, followed by Allison, Stiles, and Lennon took a deep breath, repeating the old adage: _'strength in numbers'_ to herself and stepped out too, between Stiles and Allison.

"I think I'm getting why you keep refusing me, Scott." Derek called out. "You're not an omega. You're already an alpha of your own pack." Lennon's eyes shot from him to Scott, then to Allison and Stiles, who exchanged looks of their own before settling their wary eyes on Derek. "But you know you can't beat me." he smiled with a false sweetness.

"I can hold you off until the cops get here." Scott said. In the distance, sirens blared and Derek's smile slipped from his face. He looked to his left, his eyes searching for the telltale red and blue lights in the distance. Instead, a hissing sound came rom above, and everyone's heads turned upwards as footsteps scurried across the roof. Lennon clutched the dagger in one hand as Stiles grabbed the other, pulling her from the porch and onto the lawn. They all looked up at the roof, and Lennon's eyes widened in horror as she took in the sight of a giant lizard crawling along the drainpipes. It stopped, and turned it's head towards the grouping on the lawn, and opened it's mouth, letting out a terrifying screech. Lennon took a few steps back, bumping into Stile's shoulder, who then pulled her closer under his arm as the creature darted away into the night.

Derek looked down at the bodies of Erica and Isaac and turned his head slightly to Boyd.

"Get them out of here." he commanded. The sound of heels clacking on hardwood became prominent, and seconds later, Lydia burst out onto the front porch, glaring at all of them.

"Would someone please tell me what the _hell_ is going on?" she demanded, looking at everyone.

"It's Jackson. . ." Scott murmured under his breath, looking from Lydia to the place where the lizard had been.

"Stiles, could you take me home, please?" Lennon asked, suddenly feeling drained of all energy. Stiles looked down at her and nodded. Lennon moved towards Allison, taking the knife and handing it back to her. Allison shook her head.

"Keep it. You might need it." she said. Lennon nodded and held onto it, waiting as Scott calmed Lydia down enough to get her home with Allison. Stiles opened the passenger door for Lennon after running inside and grabbing her bag, where she stuffed the knife inside, and she climbed in, watching as he shut the door and scurried around the car to the other side, getting in and turning it on.

"Did you slip something in my coke at lunch?" Lennon asked, her head resting against the headrest. Stiles shook his head.

"Nope. Unfortunately, I did not." he said. Lennon squinted her eyes at him. "I mean unfortunately in the sense that if I had, you could just write this whole thing off as a dream and be done with it."

"Stiles, what was that thing on the roof? And what happened to Isaac, and how did Scott get strong enough to lift and throw _both_ him and Erica?" Lennon asked, desperate to find a link to her thoughts.

"Want the cliffs notes version?" he asked.

"For now, yes." Lennon replied. Stiles took a deep breath and puffed up his cheeks, then blew it out.

"Isaac and Scott, and Erica, Boyd and Derek, for that fact, are werewolves." Stiles said, his voice steady. Lennon narrowed her eyes at him again.

"Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack." Lennon turned her head and looked out onto the road ahead and let her thoughts form once again in her mind with this new information. Stiles kept glancing at her, perhaps wondering if she had passed out from shock, or gone comatose on him. Lennon drew in a deep, shaky breath and closed her eye.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I believe you." she muttered, bringing her right hand up and pinching the bridge of her nose before dropping it and looking over at him. "There's no other explanation for Isaac's eyes. . .I'm pretty sure jaundice never gets that serious." Stiles shook his head, a small smile on his face. "So what was that thing on the roof, then?"

"That, uh, that's more difficult." Stiles cleared his throat and gripped the steering wheel. "It's called a kanima. . .it's also kind of Jackson. . ."

"Oh. . ." Stiles pulled into the driveway of his house and shut off the car, turning towards Lennon.

"Listen, it's a lot to take in, believe me." Stiles told her. Lennon just stared at the footboard. "Come inside with me and I'll explain everything I can, in full detail, okay?" Lennon looked up at him and nodded. Stiles grabbed her bag and his own, and carried them into his house, getting ready to spend a very long night explaining the supernatural side of Beacon Hills. He set their bags down in the foyer and turned to Lennon.

"Would you care for some hot chocolate?" he asked. Lennon gave him a soft smile and nodded, and followed him into the kitchen.

* * *

_thank you guys for all the reviews and love you've been sending! i'm so glad everyone is enjoying the story!_

_this is maybe the last update this week. i'm leaving town on saturday for a full week, with no internet access. i'll try and have something up for you just before i leave, but i just want to let you guys know in advance! i'm not abandoning yall, i'm just going on vacation! :)_

_reviews are love!_

_xoxo_

_k_


	17. Chapter 16

Ch. 16

Lennon sat on Stiles' bed, a warm cup of hot chocolate in her hands. He sat next to her, their knees brushing together as he watched her intently.

"So, Derek's psycho uncle bit Scott, and Lydia? But Lydia didn't turn or die, and Scott turned. Derek wants Scott in his pack, but Scott doesn't want to be?" Lennon asked. Stiles nodded and she continued. "Allison and her family are werewolf hunters, Isaac, Erica and Boyd are werewolves and in Derek's pack, and Jackson is a giant lizard that kills people?"

"Pretty much." Stiles shrugged, still watching her carefully, in case she passed out or flipped on him. Instead, she made a small noise in the back of her throat and sipped from her mug, staring thoughtfully at the carpeting. Lennon felt the warm liquid trickle all the way down her throat, pooling into her stomach. "Are you okay?"

"It's just. . .a lot to process. . ." she downed the rest of her cocoa and set the mug on the nightstand. Suddenly her eyes went wide and she slapped her hands over her face.

"What?" Stiles asked, getting up, moving to get his small wastebasket in case she threw up. She groaned.

"I slept with a werewolf." she fell back on his bed. "That has to be like, half illegal. He's half wolf!"

"Was he human when you boinked him?" Stiles asked after wracking his brain for an excuse.

"What the hell kind of question is that?" Lennon asked exasperatedly. Stiles tossed his hands out to his sides in the same manner.

"I don't know! If it makes you feel better, Allison and Scott have more than likely done it too." Lennon scrunched her face up and Stiles sat down next to her. She looked up at him and looked him over.

"So what are you?"

"I'm not anything." Stiles shrugged. "Good old Homo Sapien."

"I think I like that best." Lennon mumbled. Stiles chuckled and laid down next to her, on his side. Lennon had her eyes closed, and Stiles watched her face relax. He took this opportunity to really take her in. Her brunette hair was splayed around her shoulders, the loose waves that had held through the day now falling, leaving her hair curled slightly at the ends. He could see under her eyes, where her makeup was smudging from tears and stress, and a slight bump on her right cheek where a pimple may have been forming. Stiles' eyes traveled down farther, over her neck and her chest, which was rising and falling steadily now. He smiled and rolled onto his back, folding his hands over his stomach and closing his eyes.

Stiles phone buzzed and he jumped up, then froze. He stared at Lennon for a few seconds, who continued to breathe in and out, eyes closed. Stiles sighed and checked the message then cursed under his breath.

"Stupid kanima." he muttered. "Why couldn't it help elderly people cross the street or something?" he looked back at Lennon and sighed. He went to his closet and grabbed the spare blanket in his closet and draped it over her body, careful not to disturb her. He tugged on his sneakers and left, making sure the door was locked. Climbing into his jeep, he looked up at his bedroom window and sighed, turning the key in the ignition and backing out of the drive.

Stiles had to hand it to her, Lennon was taking this far better than he'd expected. Then again, she still could be in shock and have a complete mental breakdown when she wakes up in the morning. Stiles checked his mirrors quickly, continuing to drive to the club Scott told him to go to. He hoped that he would get back home before Lennon woke up, if not to make sure she was okay, but to get some sleep himself. Stiles pulled into the parking lot and looked around, finding Scott peering around the corner of the building. He got out of the Jeep and and ran up behind Scott, his footsteps startling the young man.

"Oh!" Scott turned to him.

"Sorry, sorry." Stiles whispered, stepping back a bit. "Did you see where he went?"

"I lost him." Scott shook his head, turning back to look at the line at the door.

"What?" Stiles asked. "You couldn't catch his scent?"

"I don't think he has one." Scott said. Stiles nodded, licking his lips.

"All right, any clue where he's going?"

"To kill someone." Stiles rolled his eyes.

"Ah. That'd explain the claws and the fangs, and all that. Makes perfect sense now." Scott looked at Stiles with disdain. "What? Scott, come on. I'm 147 pounds of pale skin and fragile bone, okay? Sarcasm is my only defense."

"Just help me find it!" Scott sighed.

"Not 'it'. Jackson." Stiles corrected.

"Yeah, I know." Scott sighed. "I-I know."

"All right, but does _he_ know that?" Stiles asked. "Did anybody else see him back at your house?"

"I mean, I don't think so, but he already passed Derek's test, anyway."

"Yeah, but that's just the thing. How did he pass the test?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe it's like an either or thing. . ." Stiles looked around as he thought. "I mean, Derek said that a snake can't be poisoned by its own venom, right? When's the kanima not the kanima?" Scott's eyes moved rapidly as he put the pieces together.

"When it's Jackson." he looked around the corner to the door of the club, where the bouncer was checking IDs and letting people inside. Stiles looked up for a moment, then did a double take, backing up slowly.

"Uh, dude?" Scott looked back at Stiles and followed his lead, moving back from the building. "See that?" They both watched as the kanima's tail flit through a space in the roof.

"He's inside." Scott stated. Stiles looked confused.

"What's he gonna do in there?"

"I know who he's after."

"What? How?" Stiles directed his attention to his best friend "How? Did you smell something?" Scott gave Stiles one shaky nod.

"Armani." Stiles followed Scotts' eyeline to the front of the line, where the bouncer was handing Danny his ID back.

"Shit." Stiles muttered under his breath. Grabbing Scott's arm, he pulled him back and they went around to the back of the building. Stiles ran over to the back door and jiggled the handle, finding it locked. "Aw come on. All right, maybe there's like a, a window we could climb through or some kind of-" he was cut off by the sound of metal crushing and scraping, then felt cool metal being pushed into his open hand. "Or some kind of handle we could rip off with supernatural strength. How'd I not think of that one?" Stiles tossed the handle over his shoulder and followed Scott inside.

They snuck through the back and passed through a cheap black velvet curtain. They stopped and looked around the club, the loud music thumping enough to make their bodies vibrate.

"Dude," Scott began, taking in the crowd. "Everyone in here's a dude." he took in the buff, shirtless guy dancing on a podium. "I think we're in a gay club!" He looked over to see Stiles surrounded by drag queens drinking martinis.

"Man, nothing gets past those keen werewolf senses, huh, Scott?" Stiles deadpanned, but Scott had already turned his head away, staring at Danny, who was taking his drink from the bartender. He turned around to gaze out at the club, his eyes becoming a bit somber for a moment before turning back to the bartender. Scott and Stiles watched as they exchanged words, and glanced over to another shirtless guy before Danny went over to them. Scott and Stiles hurried up to the bar.

"Two beers." Stiles smiled.

"I.D.'s?" the bartender asked. The two pulled out their fake I.D.'s and slid them to the bartender, who held them up and studied them. "How 'bout two cokes?"

"Rum and coke? Sure!" Stiles nodded, looking back at the bartender who was staring at him skeptically. "Coke's fine, actually. I'm driving anyway." Stiles nodded his head to the beat of the song playing as the bartender rolled his eyes and signaled for two cokes. Stiles pulled his fake ID back and put it in his wallet, thumbing through the money he had to pay for his drink when a shirtless barkeep came over, sliding the drinks in front of them.

"That one's paid for." he smiled at Scott, then looked over his shoulder and nodded towards a guy at the opposite end of the bar. The young man lifted his beer and gave Scott a nod. Scott looked to Stiles, fighting the stupid grin that was bubbling up but ultimately failing.

"Oh shut up." Stiles told him as he put money on the bar and stuffed his wallet back into his pocket. He picked up his Coke and took a sip, turning to watch the dance floor. This was going to be a long night of kanima hunting.

* * *

Lennon rubbed her tired eyes as she stood in front of her open locker. After waking up alone in Stiles' bedroom and trudging over to her house in an early morning rainstorm, she got only a half an hour more of sleep before her alarm went off, and she had to get ready for the day.

"Hey, can you do me a huge favor?" Allison came up close to her, startling Lennon. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, I'm just kind of out of sorts today." Lennon muttered, shaking her head. "I didn't exactly sleep well last night."

"Yeah, I can guess." Allison nodded. "But I really need you to do me a huge favor."

"What is it?" Lennon asked, taking out her Econ book and shutting her locker.

"If anyone, and I mean anyone asks, I'm studying with you and Lydia tonight."

"For what?"

"World history midterm." Allison told her. "I would really appreciate it."

"Yeah, no problem." Lennon nodded. "Hey, have you seen Stiles?"

"Uh, not today. He and Scott had some business to take care of this morning with Jackson." Allison told her. "I think they're still there."

"Oh, okay." Lennon gave Allison a small smile as she began to walk away. She paused ad turned back, walking over to the dark haired girl. "Wait. Does Lydia know everything? I mean, Stiles explained it all to me last night, as much as he could. . ."

"No, not really." Allison shook her head. "So please don't say anything to her about it. Especially Jackson."

"No, I-I won't. I promise." Lennon held out her pinky and Allison couldn't help but grin and lock her little finger around Lennon's, sealing the promise. "I have to get to class, so I'll see you later."

"Yeah, bye Lennon." Lennon turned and finally made her way down the hall. Her shoulder knocked into someone and she turned with the force of the hit, gasping.

"I'm so sorry!" she apologized, looking to the person she hit. Matt stood before her, rubbing his shoulder.

"No, I wasn't watching where I was going." he chuckled. "I was actually looking for you."

"Oh, well, looks like we found each other." Lennon smiled. "What's up?"

"I fixed that camera for you." he smiled, reaching into his messenger bag and taking out the piece of equipment and handing it to her. "Your brother did quite a number on it."

"I bet. I hope it wasn't too much trouble for you." Lennon took the camera and put the strap around her neck, the only way she could carry it safely with her books and binder.

"It was a bit uh, _sticky_, but I didn't lose ay sleep over it." Matt shrugged. Lennon laughed and reached into her bag, pulling out a small fold of bills. She held it out for him and Matt shook his head. "What?"

"I can't take your money, Lennon." Lennon pulled back her arm a little bit.

"Matt, come on." she smiled. "I don't feel right not paying you for helping me."

"Well then, you can do something else for me." Matt said. He stepped closer and Lennon watched him closely. "Could you maybe, talk to Allison for me?"

"Allison Argent?" Lennon asked curiously.

"Do you know another Allison?" Matt chuckled. "Yes, her. I just, I have this major crush on her, you know? And I want to know if she's into me or if there's a possibility at all. . ."

"Oh Matt," Lennon started, shuffling her feet nervously. "Allison is kind of going through some things right now. And I'm not one hundred percent on where she stands with Scott, still. I think relationships and dating are the last thing on her mind right now." she saw the dejected look on Matt's face and sighed. "But I'll try and talk to her for you."

"Really?"

"Yes, Matt. Really." Lennon smiled. She reached over and took hold of his wrist, opening his hand and sliding the small fold of bills into it and closing his fist around it. "Take that. Consider it an insurance policy." she gave Matt a smile and a small wink before continuing on her way to class, sliding into her seat just as the bell rang.

* * *

_hey guys! i'm baaaaaaack! did you miss me? :D well i missed you guys so much! i had a ton of fun in the sun and running around in the past week, and i'm super ready to just get back to chilling out and writing for you all!_

_thanks so much for all the reviews and messages you guys sent while I was away! It's super nice of you!_

_as per usual, reviews are love, and i try to reply to all the ones i can!_

_xoxo_

_k_


	18. Chapter 17

Ch. 17

"So why do we need their help?" Isaac asked as he followed Derek through the rusty bus and out the doors, into the depot.

"Because it's harder to kill than I thought." Derek admitted, although begrudgingly. "And I still don't know who it is."

"And they do?"

"They might." Derek reasoned. "Which is why I need one of you to get on their good side." Erica began following them, perking up.

"Mm, Scott or Stiles?" she asked, and Isaac could almost see her licking her lips. He rolled his eyes.

"Either." Derek said. Isaac's thoughts immediately drifted to the brunette that had been standing closely to the latter name lately. He could justify working his way to Stiles through Lennon, surely. Then again, he could barely control himself the other night, when he tossed her into the pantry. He almost threw himself in there with her. Perhaps getting to Lennon wasn't such a great idea. A thought popped into his brain and he moved forward

"You know the full moon's coming, Derek."

"I'm aware of that." he leaned over and opened a large wooden chest, and pulled out a long strand of metal chains. Erica bent over the box, reaching a hand in and pulling a large halo out, screws sticking out of it at all sides.

"These look comfortable." she grinned. Derek rolled his eyes and grabbed the halo and chains from her, tossing them into the pile he was making.

"You said you were going to teach us to change whenever we wanted to." Isaac mentioned.

"There hasn't been time." Derek sighed, losing patience with his betas.

"But if you have to lock us up during the full moon, that means-that means you're alone against the Argents." Isaac said, his worry beginning to come through.

"They haven't found us." Derek informed him, his last word spoken in almost a mocking sing-song.

"Yet!" Isaac snapped. "So how about we forget about the kanima?"

"We can't!" Derek shouted. He took a deep breath and steadied himself. "There was something about the way Gerard looked at it. He wasn't afraid. . .at all." Isaac and Erica exchanged looks, worried about how puzzled their Alpha seemed to be. "I don't know what he knows, or what he's planning. But I'm sure about one thing: We _have_ to find it first."

* * *

"Matt, I don't know what to tell you." Lennon groaned into her locker. The past two days Matt had been bugging her incessantly, asking if she had had a chance to talk to Allison. "I really haven't been able to have some girl time with her. We've been studying like mad for midterms."

"Okay. I'm just thinking of asking her to this underground show, you know? And it's in a few days so I need to know like now." Matt huffed. Lennon rolled her eyes and shut her locker.

"Then just go find her and ask her." Lennon adjusted her binder in her arm and looked the boy in the eyes. "It's so simple. I'm sure she'd say yes."

"Well, would you want to go too?" Matt asked. Lennon furrowed her brow and looked the kid over. "No, I mean, like what if I'm lame and boring. Maybe if you happen to show up or something I can text you and you can swoop in and save the date."

"I can't. I gave you my allowance for the next three weeks."

"Then I'll buy your ticket for you." Matt reasoned. Lennon shrugged.

"Fine. But if I get drugged, your ass is grass."

"Cool. I'll see you later, Lennon." Lennon gave a shiver as Matt turned and walked away.

"Hey, you okay?" Lennon looked over to see Stiles standing next to her. She sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, Matt just gave me the creeps." she told him. Stiles looked at her, confusion spread across his face. "He's like, weirdly into Allison. Like, more than Scott is into Allison."

"That's weird. . ." Stiles sniffed. "Have you seen Lydia?"

"Not recently. I saw her this morning though, why?" Lennon asked.

"I have to talk to her about Jackson." Stiles adjusted his backpack on his shoulder and huffed.

"Stiles," Lennon began. The boy held up his hand and shook his head.

"Trust me, it's not a crush thing." he told her. He leaned in closer. "It's something to do with him being the kanima."

"She's not in trouble, is she?" Lennon questioned. Stiles shook his head.

"We just need some back story. We're trying to figure out why the kanima _is_ the kanima."

"That sounds like a job for his parents." Lennon muttered.

"Well if we knew where his biological ones are, we wouldn't be bugging Lydia." Lennon stepped back, aghast at Stiles' nonchalant demeanor.

"Jackson's adopted?"

"Yeah." Stiles shrugged. He looked down to Lennon, who was staring at him as if he were an alien who had just crash landed in her front yard. "What?"

"Stiles, that's a big deal!" Lennon grabbed the front of his sweatshirt and pulled him closer, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Do you really think you should be meddling and poking around in his personal life? You said the kanima is a weapon-like creature, right? What if whoever is controlling him finds out you're snooping, Stiles? They could choose to send the kanima after _you_."

"I hadn't thought of that. . ." Stiles murmured thoughtfully. Lennon let go of his sweatshirt and lightly smoothed it down against his chest.

"I know you hadn't." Lennon muttered. "I know I'm new to all of this, but that doesn't mean I worry any less. You're one of my best friends, Stiles. I understand you have to do what you have to do, and I'm willing to help in any way I can, but please, just be careful. You throw yourself into this mess so quickly I don't think you really stop to consider that you could get seriously hurt."

"You care that much?" Stiles' eyes were wider than usual. The warm brown colors in his iris' shone with something Lennon couldn't quite place.

"Of course I do, Stiles." she whispered. Something came over Lennon and she hopped up onto her tiptoes, and placed a soft kiss to the corner of his lips. She moved back after a few moments and they stared into each others' eyes before Lennon clutched her binder to her chest and moved around Stiles, scurrying off to class.

Throughout class, Lennon agonized over what she had just done. Did she really mean to kiss Stiles that way? What was that look in his eyes? Was it a mutual feeling? Was he repulsed by the thought of a girl other than Lydia? Lennon was so perplexed by her thoughts, she didn't notice when she was called on, and had to ask the teacher to repeat the question. Her plan to skip the next class and go get coffee for a while was busted when Allison sent her a text, warning her about the new cameras being installed. When the bell rang, Lennon grabbed her books and made her way down the hallway. As she approached the small set of stairs, she saw Erica pushing Stiles up against the wall. Something swelled up in Lennon's stomach, making her stop and watch, her fingers fidgeting.

Stiles pushed away and the feeling in Lennon's stomach began to fade away as he moved towards her. His eyes locked with hers and he gave her a soft smile and she moved down the stairs towards him, when Erica turned.

"If you're wondering about Jackson's real parents," Stiles spun around quickly, and Lennon's eyes snapped up. "They're about half a mile from here. In Beacon Hills cemetery." Erica gave them a smug smile and walked off. Stiles looked back at Lennon, stunned, then took off. Lennon didn't hesitate to follow, not knowing if it was inherent curiosity or her dislike of Erica that made her do it.

"Okay wait!" Stiles called out, closing in on Erica. Lennon had to practically run to keep up with him. "Do you know how they died?" he asked.

"Maybe," Erica shrugged nonchalantly. Lennon rolled her eyes. "If you tell me why you're so interested."

"Um. . ." Stiles looked to Lennon who shrugged, having no idea what to say. Suddenly Erica stopped, forcing Lennon and Stiles to merely collide with her.

"It's him, isn't it?"

"What? Who?" Stiles tried to cover his tracks. "Him who?"

"The test didn't work, but it's still him. . ." she murmured. "It's Jackson." Stiles and Lennon stopped, letting her walk off, Stiles flabbergasted. He looked over to her and she looked up at him worriedly.

"Yeah, we're in deep shit." Lennon muttered. Stiles grabbed her wrist and chased after Erica again, heading towards the gym.

"You can't tell Derek, okay?" he begged. "There's still a lot more to this that you don't know about. And just because you got the Alpha bite makeover doesn't give you a license to go around destroying people."

Erica turned on her heel, infuriated.

"Why not? That's all anybody ever used to do to me." she seethed. She glanced at Lennon standing there and brought her large, golden brown eyes back to Stiles'. "I used to have the worst crush in the world on you. Yeah, you, Stiles. And you never once even noticed me." Stiles' eyes dropped to the floor and Lennon bit her lip. "Exactly how you're not noticing me right now." Lennon diverted her eyes to where Stiles was looking, and Erica followed suit, all three of them noticing the large puddle of water seeping out from under the door to the boys locker room.

The door flew open and Scott flew down to the ground, Jackson quickly following, grabbing Scott by the front of the shirt and bringing him up to slam his back down on the ground again. Erica rushed forward, grabbing Jackson. Stiles dropped his bag to the floor and he and Lennon rushed forward, grabbing Scott as Allison came running in from the locker room.

"What the hell is going on?" Mr. Harris rushed forward towards Jackson and Erica. "Hey! Hey, that's enough! What do you idiots thing you're doing? Jackson, calm down! McCall, you wanna explain yourself? Stilinski? McIntyre?"

"Uh, you dropped this." Matt was holding out a tablet towards Lennon and Stiles. Lennon reached out to take it, but Mr. Harris snatched it up.

"You and you. . ." he looked around at the students, a small smirk growing on his tiny, rodent-like face. "Actually, all of you, detention. Three 'o' clock." he gave the group a grin and walked away, handing the tablet back to Matt.

* * *

"I can't believe I got detention. . ." Lennon sighed. "I'm setting a horrible example for Jude."

"Yeah, well you're friends with Scott and Stiles, you should get used to it." Matt chuckled next to her as they filed into the library. Mr. Harris stood at the center of the room as the teenagers stood in the back, awaiting their fate. Harris gestured to the tables in front of him and they all went to sit down.

"Uh, oh, we can't be in detention together." Jackson piped up. "I have a restraining order against these tools."

"All of these tools?" Mr. Harris asked. Lennon rolled her eyes.

"No, just us tools." Stiles answered, gesturing to himself and Scott.

"Fine. You two, over there." Scott and Stiles moved to the table adjacent from where they had originally sat, leaving Erica and Lennon alone. Lennon took a deep breath and sighed, opening her binder and pulling out some homework, setting herself to work.

"What's got your panties in a knot, McIntyre?" Erica murmured amusedly, watching the brunette. Lennon fiddled with the pen in her hand, ignoring her. "I used to have that problem, you know? But lately, I haven't had to wear panties. . .especially where Isaac is involved." Lennon threw her pen down on the table and glared at Erica.

"What is your problem?" she hissed. "I have been nothing but nice to you, especially when you didn't deserve it. I don't know what I've done to incur your wrath, but I'm sorry, Erica. And I don't know what's going on with you and Isaac, or Isaac himself, but I know that you know it hurts to dangle him him front of me. I may not be a werewolf, or have any of your strength or velocity, but believe me when I say that's I've got my own claws, Reyes, and I will fight back."

Erica sat back in her chair, her eyes running over Lennon, seemingly appraising her.

"You've got guts, Lennon." she said, leaning back in. "There's hope for you yet." she was about to say something else when the crinkling of a bag distracted them. Matt was pulling open a bag of chips and Lennon rolled her eyes, clearing her throat as she picked up her pen and focused back on her homework.

"You okay?" everyone's heads looked up to see Jackson rubbing his forehead. Jackson grabbed his bag and stood up.

"I have to go to the bathroom." he announced.

"Are you alright?" Mr. Harris asked from the desk. "You don't look so well."

"I just need to get some water." Jackson rushed past the desk. Mr. Harris got up.

"No one leaves their seats." he told the teens still seated before turning and following Jackson. As soon as the door shut behind him, Stiles and Scott clambered back over to Lennon and Erica's table.

"Stiles said you know how Jackson's parents died?" Scott asked, leaning over the table, his elbow jostling Lennon a bit as he threw himself into the chair next to her.

"Maybe." Erica shrugged, not looking up from the notebook she was doodling in.

"Talk." Erica shut her notebook and looked up.

"It was a car accident." she stated. "My dad was the insurance investigator. And every time he sees Jackson drive by in his Porsche, he makes some comment about the huge settlement he'll get when he's eighteen."

"So not only is Jackson rich now, but he's getting even richer at eighteen?" Stiles asked rhetorically.

"Yep." Erica smiled.

"There's something so deeply wrong with that." Stiles shook his head.

"You know what? I could try to find the insurance report on my dad's inbox. He keeps everything." The P.A. system crackled to life and Mrs. Argent's voice flooded the room.

"Scott McCall, please report to the principal's office." it snapped off and Scott got up and trudged out of the room, leaving Lennon, Stiles and Erica to look up the insurance report.

* * *

_thanks for all the welcome backs! yall are so sweet to me! i'm glad you missed me and my story! i've got plenty in store for yall!_

_reviews are lovely little love nuggets!_

_xoxo_

_k_


	19. Chapter 18

Ch. 18

A little while after Scott had left, Jackson came back, looking more pale than he had before, and his skin was pasty with sweat. Lennon watched him carefully as he sat down before directing her attention back to Stiles and Erica.

"Don't forget the dates." Stiles told the blonde as she pulled up the records.

"Passengers arrived at the hospital D.O.A." Erica read from the paper quietly. "The estimated time of death: nine twenty-six pm, June fourteenth, nineteen ninety-five."

"Jackson's birthday is June fifteenth. . ." Stiles murmured. He exchanged looks with Erica and Lennon.

"Emergency c-section." Lennon mumbled under her breath. Stiles and Erica looked at her. "My mom had to have one with me, I never hear the end of it."

Fifteen minutes later, Mr. Harris packed up his things, and the teens took that as a signal that their detention was over. They stood up, grabbing their things.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry. " Mr. Harris chuckled. "Uh, yes, I'm leaving, but none of you are. You may go when you're done with the re-shelving." he gave them all a sickeningly sweet smile as he patted the first of many full book carts, and left. The group of teens sighed collectively and moved towards the carts. Lennon and Erica took one cart, Stiles and Allison were joined by Scott on another, and Matt and Jackson took a third. The teens spread out in the library and began putting the books back.

"He misses you." Erica sighed, reading the back of a science-fiction novel. Lennon looked up and studied the blonde. "I shouldn't even be saying this, but I'm only doing what I'm doing to help him."

"Hurting my feelings is helping Isaac?" Lennon asked, disdain in her voice as she slid a book back onto its shelf.

"Keeping you apart is helping him." Erica replied coolly, letting Lennon's shade roll off of her. "Derek thinks you're a distraction, or dangerous. . .or both."

"How could I be dangerous?" Lennon was puzzled by the thought. Erica sighed and put the book back on the cart.

"Isaac was in love with you." Erica said, simply. "Even as a werewolf, his feelings for you could cloud his judgement, ending up in one or both of you hurt or dead. We're watching out for our pack. And consequently, you."

"Does he," Lennon began, stopping and taking a breath. "Does he still. . ."

"Love you?" Erica supplied. Lennon gave a small nod, feeling pathetic for asking. "I don't know. He doesn't talk much about you. Then again, if Derek heard him talk about you, he'd get an hour lecture on how dangerous werewolf/human romances can be."

"I see. . ."

"Listen, whatever you've got going on with Stiles is safer than anything you'd have with Isaac." Erica told her. "If you want my advice, stick with the human. He may be in all of this, but he won't be able to literally tear you to shreds when his anger gets provoked."

"There's nothing going on with Stiles." Lennon shook her head. Erica tilted her head to the side, looking at Lennon like she was a little girl, asking where babies came from.

"Oh honey," she giggled. "I could practically smell your jealously earlier in the hallway. You know, when you saw me pushing him against the wall?"

"So?" Lennon shrugged. "That doesn't mean anything."

"It means you've got feelings for him." Erica explained to her. "I don't blame you. Those big puppy dog eyes, the adorable face, the dry sense of humor. . .I fell for it too."

"Yeah, I know." Lennon reminded her. "Worst crush in the world."

"You're lucky he notices you, Lennon." Erica murmured softly. "I tried for _years_ to get him to laugh at my jokes, or notice my new outfit or anything about me. But he only had eyes for Lydia."

"And that hasn't changed." Lennon stated.

"Maybe so, but his heart rate picked up when he saw you on the stairs earlier." Erica told her. "Even if it's not Lydia-sized, he's still got a crush on you."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Lennon asked. "I thought you hated me."

"I never hated you, Lennon." Erica shook her head. "I was a bitch, yeah, but I was protecting my pack. I still am. Stick with Stiles and forget about Isaac. And let him try to forget you. You'll be better off." Erica picked up a few books and walked away quickly, leaving Lennon stupefied. Why was she all of a sudden giving Lennon advice on her love life? Shaking her head and grabbing a handful of books, Lennon moved to the aisle where Allison, Scott and Stiles were talking, joining them.

"So was it an accident or not?" Allison asked.

"The word all over the report is 'inconclusive'." Stiles sighed.

"Then his parents could have been murdered?" Scott asked.

"If they were, then it falls in line with the kanima myth, you know." Stiles shrugged. "It seeks out and kills murderers."

"But for Jackson?" Allison asked. "Or for whoever is controlling him?"

"Do the kanima and its master have to have a connection or anything?" Lennon asked. "Like maybe they share a similar past?"

"No, I don't think so." Scott shook his head. "We have to talk to him. We have to tell him."

"He's not gonna li-" Scott was gone before Allison could finish her sentence. There were a few moments of quiet, then the sound of glass shattering. The light fixture a few rows over burst and a figure was diving over their heads.

"ERICA!" Scott called out. A roar was heard and more light fixtures burst. Stiles grabbed Allison and pulled her back, Lennon following. Stiles tucked Allison's head into his shoulder, and Lennon crouched behind the book cart. Electricity was snapping and crackling down over them. The sound of a body falling to the floor made Lennon's stomach twist. She watched as Scott's body flew back through the air and he landed on his back.

"Over here!" Stiles waved him over and Scott scurried behind the bookshelf, crouching next to Lennon, putting his arm out as Allison moved forward, keeping her back from harm. Jackson stood in front of them, his skin half normal, half scaly. His head tipped back, as if a string had pulled it back, and his hand went up towards the chalkboard.

"He looks like a marionette." Lennon murmured. Stiles nodded and they watched as Jackson wrote on the board. His hand dropped to his side and his head lolled to the side and then forward, as if his body shut down. Suddenly he reared back and ran forward, leaping for a high window and crashing through it.

"Stay out of my way or I'll kill all of you. . ." Lennon read under her breath. They all stood up, moving towards the chalkboard. A grunting noise came from behind them and they turned around.

"Woah, hey! Hey, hey, hey!" Stiles ran over to Erica, who was convulsing on the floor. Lennon ran over too, falling to her knees beside them as he scooped the blonde into his arms. "I think she's having a seizure. . ." Scott ran forward and Allison ran over to Matt, who was in the next aisle over.

"He's alive." she announced to them.

"Hey, we need to get her to a hospital." Scott looked at Allison through the shelf.

"Derek!" Erica gasped. "Only to Derek." Stiles nodded and looked up to Lennon.

"When we get her to the hospital-" Scott continued.

"To Derek." Erica insisted. "To Derek."

"Go." Allison told them. Scott got up and ran over to Allison and Matt.

"Hey, Scott!" Stiles watched him go, struggling to hold a still convulsing Erica. Lennon moved forward and held her hand out, and Erica grasped it.

"It's going to be okay." Lennon murmured, reaching her other hand out and stroking the blonde's hair back. "We'll get you to Derek as soon as we can. It's going to be okay Erica."

"Lennon, stay here with Allison." Scott instructed the girl as he knelt down next to her again, taking Erica from Stiles' arms. "Call an ambulance for Matt."

"Okay." Lennon nodded, taking her hand back from Erica and running over to the other aisle where Allison was turning Matt over onto his back. He was unconscious and Lennon tucked her hair behind her ears.

"We can't call an ambulance." Lennon murmured to Allison. "Not with this mess. What do we do?"

"I don't know." Allison shook her head. "I don't know."

* * *

Stiles and Scott rushed into the depot, bypassing Isaac and Boyd, who followed closely after seeing Erica incapacitated.

"Pull her up." Derek said as Scott set her on the floor of the bus. Stiles kneeled behind her and pulled Erica up into his lap.

"Is she dying?" Stiles asked. Derek sucked in a deep breath.

"She might, I. . ." he sighed. Finally he thought of something. "Which is why this is going to hurt." he grabbed Erica's arm and twisted, the bone snapping echoing loudly as she screamed in agony.

"You broke her arm!" Stiles yelled over Erica's screams.

"It'll trigger the healing process!" Derek defended. "I still have to get the venom out. This is where it's really going to hurt." More cracking was heard as his claws dug into her skin and bones, black blood pouring from her arm. Erica screamed louder, and fell back into Stiles' arms. She looked up at him, her breath light and shallow.

"Stiles," she whispered. Stiles looked from her arm to her face, brushing her hair back quickly, as if not sure what to do with his hands. "You make a good Batman." and with that, her head lolled to the side, the pain overpowering her and forcing her to pass out.

"You know who it is." Scott said as he and Derek exited the bus a while later. Erica was still passed out, and Derek and Scott left Stiles with her, to make sure she kept breathing.

"Jackson." Derek confirmed, sitting down and facing Scott.

"You just wanted Erica to confirm it, didn't you?" Scott accused. Derek looked away and said nothing, admitting his guilt. "I'm gonna help you stop him, as part of your pack." Derek's head snapped back towards the young werewolf. "If you want me in, fine. But we'll do it on one condition: We're gonna catch him, not kill him."

"And?" Derek asked. Scott looked back to Derek, determination in his eyes.

"And we do it my way."

* * *

_what do you guys think? we're getting close to the end of season two! lennon and stiles are growing closer, but i feel this nagging sensation that isaac isn't too far behind her. . . ;)_

_reviews are love!_

_xoxo_

_k_


	20. Chapter 19

Ch. 19

"Food delivery for Sheriff Stilinski!" Lennon smiled as she and Stiles walked into Paul's office, bags of take out in their hands. The sheriff clapped and rubbed his hands together as the teens set the bags on his desk. Lennon pulled up two chairs in front of the desk as Stiles handed out the food. Paul had been working more than ever, after the death of a murder witness in the hospital, the night the kids had detention.

"Here you go." he handed Lennon her turkey club sandwich and fries he handed his father a styrofoam container and took a small plastic bowl filled with salad out for himself. Smiling, the sheriff took the burger from the carton and took a large bite. After two chews, he grimaced and set down the burger.

"Oh what the hell is this?" he asked.

"Veggie burger." Stiles answered simply.

"Stiles, I asked for a hamburger."

"Well veggie is healthier. We're being healthy." Stiles picked up the salad and shook it. Paul sighed.

"I'll trade you a french fry for a cucumber." Lennon said, holding up a golden yellow, crispy potato.

"Done." Stiles grabbed the fry and handed Lennon a slice of cucumber.

"Oh hell why are you trying to ruin my life?" he asked, popping open a container of french fries to find celery and carrot sticks.

"I'm trying to extend your life, okay?" Lennon hid her tiny smile behind half of her sandwich. She loved watching Stiles and his father bicker about health foods. It was cute how Stiles would get riled up over his dad's wellbeing. "Could you just eat it, please? And tell me what you found."

"No, I'm not sharing confidential police work with a couple of teenagers."

"Is that it on the board behind you?" Stiles asked, sipping his drink. Lennon craned her neck to see around the Sheriff.

"Don't look at that." Paul demanded.

"Alright." Stiles looked at his dad, but his eyes went immediately back to the board.

"Avert your eyes." the Sheriff instructed.

"Okay." Lennon nodded, looking down at her sandwich, then back to the board.

"Hey!"

"Just-It's just, I see arrows pointing at pictures. . ." Stiles said.

"Okay! Okay stop!" Paul demanded, using a more authoritative tone than before. "Fine. I found something. The mechanic and the couple who were murdered, all have something in common."

"All three?" Stiles asked. He and Lennon were leaning forward in their seats.

"Yeah, you know what I always say." Paul continued, holding up his hand and counting off. "One's an incident, two's coincidence. . ."

"Three's a pattern." Stiles finished.

"The mechanic, the husband, the wife, all the same age. All twenty-four."

"But wait, what about Mr. Lahey?" Lennon piped up. "I mean, Isaac's dad isn't anywhere near twenty-four."

"Which made me think that either A: Lahey's murder wasn't connected, or B: The ages were a coincidence, until I found this, which would be C." The Sheriff handed Stiles a file, and looked to Lennon. "Did you know Isaac had an older brother named Camden?"

"N-No." Lennon shook her head, looking at the file. "We never really talked much about his family life."

"'Died in combat'?" Stiles asked aloud.

"But if he were alive today, take one guess as to how old he'd be?"

"Twenty-four." Stiles and Lennon murmured in unison. All three of them stood up, discarding their dinners on the table and standing directly in front of the board.

"What if the same age mean same class, I mean, did you think of that?" Stiles asked.

"Yeah, yeah. . ." Paul held his hand over his chin, posing inquisitively. "Well, I would've. I mean, look, I just got Lahey's file two hours ago."

"Two hours?!" Stiles turned. "Dad, people could be dying!"

"Stiles!" Lennon nudged him hard with her elbow.

"Yeah, I'm aware of that. Thank you." Mr. Stilinski replied, his hands going to his hips.

"Same class. . ." Stiles muttered under his breath.

"Anyone have a copy of Beacon Hills Yearbook circa two thousand-six?" Lennon mused. Stiles and Paul shared a look over her head and dashed away. Lennon quickly followed. They pulled every file about Beacon Hills High School they could find for the year 2006 and took them back to the Sheriff's office.

"Okay here it is! Beacon Hills, Class of two thousand and six." Stiles announced, holding a blue folder up. He opened it up and fingered through it. "They all went to Beacon Hills."

"Including Isaac's brother." the Sheriff confirmed.

"Alright, but so what if they all knew each other?" Stiles shrugged. Lennon bit her lip and furrowed her brow in thought, trying to connect the motive to the murders. "I mean, two of them were married, so maybe they all just hung out."

"But that doesn't warrant murder." Lennon shook her head. "If they were just a group of old friends hanging out, why would someone want to kill them?"

"Well, they could've had the same classes together. They could've-" Paul stopped and Lennon and Stiles looked up at him.

"What?" Stiles asked.

"Same teacher." Sheriff Stilinski murmured, facing the files towards the teens. A picture of Mr. Harris stared up at them, along with his teaching transcripts.

"Harris." Lennon whispered.

"They were all in his class?" Stiles asked.

"All four." Mr. Stilinski tapped his finger on the attendance list. "And I don't know how Mr. Lahey fits in, but this, kids, this, is definitely a pattern. Alright, give me the two thousand-six yearbook." Lennon shifted some papers and picked up the book. "These names, we need faces."

"Which ones?" Stiles asked, picking up Harris' file. He moved and shared the file with Lennon as she cracked open the book.

"Everyone in that chemistry class." Paul told him, dialing the phone. "If the killer's not done killing. . ."

"One of them is next." Stiles muttered. Paul nodded looking between the teens.

"Yeah, it's Stilinski." he set in the call as Stiles and Lennon flipped through the book.

* * *

"What is he doing here?" Scott asked after unlocking the door to the animal clinic. He watched as Derek and Isaac entered.

"I need him." Derek answered simply.

"I don't trust him." Scott regarded the younger man carefully.

"Yeah well, he doesn't trust you either." Isaac rolled his eyes.

"You know what? And Derek really doesn't care." Derek cut in. "Now where's the vet? Is he gonna help us or not?"

"That depends." Deaton appeared, leaning against the doorway to the exam rooms. "Your friend Jackson, are we planning to kill him or save him?"

"Kill him." Derek announced, the same time Scott said "Save him."

"_Save_ him." Scott growled. Derek sighed and rolled his eyes. "Save him." Scott insisted to Deaton.

"Follow me." Deaton led the werewolves back to the largest exam room, and grabbed a tray with two neat rows of canisters. Isaac glanced down at them curiously and reached out for one.

"Watch what you touch." Derek hissed, grabbing the Beta's wrist. Isaac took his arm back, watching Deaton freely pick up the small apothecary jars. He leaned down onto his arms.

"So, what are you? Some kind of witch?" Deaton's eyes shot up and he coolly regarded the young man.

"No, I'm a veterinarian." he gave Isaac a small smile and moved on, setting down the jar. "Unfortunately I don't see anything here that's going to be an effective defense against a paralytic toxin."

"We're open to suggestions." Derek informed Deaton.

"What about an effective offense?" Isaac supplied.

"No, we already tried. I nearly took its head off." Derek shook his head. "And Argent emptied an entire clip into it. The thing just gets back up."

"Has it shown _any_ weakness?" Deaton asked.

"Well one. . ." Derek admitted. "It can't swim."

"Does that apply to Jackson as well?"

"No." Scott shook his head. "He's captain of the swim team."

"Essentially, you're trying to catch two people." Deaton moved away from the table, going to a drawer and taking something out of it before returning. He held up a large coin. "A puppet, and they puppeteer. One killed the husband, but the other had to take care of the wife. Do we know why?"

"I don't think Jackson could do it." Scott told Deaton. "His mother died pregnant, too, and she was maybe murdered. I think he couldn't let the same thing happen to someone else.

"How do you know it's not part of the rules?" Isaac piped up. "The kanima kills murderers. If Jackson kills the wife, then the baby dies too.

"Does that mean your father was a murderer?" Scott asked, a slightly sarcastic tone to his voice.

"Wouldn't surprise me if he was." Isaac muttered seriously. Deaton looked up quickly, his eyes wide as he remembered some information.

"Hold on, the book says they're bounded, right? What if the fear of water isn't coming from Jackson, but from the person controlling him? What if something that affects the kanima, also affects its master?"

"Meaning what?" Isaac asked.

"Meaning we can catch them." Scott nodded, starting to feel relieved that at least something was going right. "Both of them."

* * *

"You look pretty." Lennon looked up from her reflection in her mirror and grinned at her half-brother. Jude walked farther into Lennon's room and stood next to her vanity, looking at her reflection. "Where are you going?"

"There's a concert I was invited to by my friends." Lennon told him, taking her big blending brush and finishing her makeup. Leaning over, she brushed it across Jude's nose, laughing as he squeaked and scrunched up his face. She set down the brush and clasped the silver quartz necklace around her neck.

"Is Stiles coming to get you?"

"Nope." Lennon shook her head, tossing her loosely curled hair so it sat right before spraying it with hairspray. "Danny and his date are picking me up." Her phone buzzed and she unlocked the screen. "Speaking of, they're here."

"Have fun, Lennon." Lennon grabbed her leather jacket and pulled it on, zipping it up. Her tight skirt was one thing, but if her parents saw the top she had on, she wouldn't be allowed out of the house for months.

"I will." she ruffled Jude's hair playfully. "Be good, okay?"

"Okay. Bye Lenny."

"Bye Judey." Lennon left Jude in her room, knowing that there wasn't anything he could get into and made sure her phone was securely in her jacket pocket. She said a quick goodbye to her parents and was at the underground show in no time.

"Alright, you guys go have fun. I'm going to find someone to make bad decisions with." Danny and his date shook their heads and laughed, telling her to be careful. Lennon looked around, her eyes adjusting to the bursts of light. The strobe lights were disorienting and it didn't help that people were waving glow sticks around, creating more distraction. Lennon took a deep breath and made her way through the crowd. Finding a small spot, Lennon started dancing to the beat, feeling the stress from the past week roll off of her in waves. She danced for a few more songs, and waved to Allison and Matt when she noticed them near by.

Arms wound around her waist and Lennon's head turned sharply. Isaac was was looking down at her. Lennon turned her head again, looking down at the floor. Isaac brought one of his hands up and brushed her hair away from her neck, leaning down and kissing just under her ear, making her eyes flutter.

"I do," he murmured in her ear. Lennon was surprised she could hear his voice so soft over the loud music. He pressed one more kiss to her temple and he arms slid away from her and he disappeared into the crowd before she could even turn all the way around.

* * *

_Things are getting more and more complicated, aren't they? I don't think Lennon is going to heed Erica's advice from the previous chapter all too well. . . ;)_

_So as many of you on the tumblr community may know, this Monday's finale was leaked on iTunes, and people have downloaded it and uploaded it so others can get it. Now, while I don't condemn any of the others who took advantage of this little slip-up, I do ask very dearly that you all refrain from posting spoilers. I know it's juicy brand new stuff and you want to share it but please respect those who wish to wait and enjoy the episode on Monday night. Also, if you are one of the people who downloaded it, please please please make sure you tune in on Monday as well. Downloads only count in the music industry, and ratings are all that matters. It's a HUGE thing that Teen Wolf got to have a full 24 episode season (the finale this Monday is the finale of season 3A, they're currently shooting 3B), and with a cast of characters so diverse, with people of color and homosexual/bisexual basically at the forefront, it's a very important thing. A fourth season would be amazing, think of the characters and actors you love so much and just tune in and watch on Monday! It's so, so important!_

_reviews are love, but not as much love as tuning in on Monday!_

_xoxo_

_k_


	21. Chapter 20

Ch. 20

Lennon searched the crowd for Isaac but to no avail. Sighing, she squeezed her way past the crowd and towards a lounge area. She had meant to get out and have a little werewolf free fun, but apparently, that wasn't going to happen. Especially as she bumped shoulders with Scott.

"Scott! What are you doing here?" Lennon asked. She followed his eyeline to where Allison and Matt were dancing. "Oh no, Scott, please."

"This isn't about her." Scott shook his head. Lennon tilted her head and gave him a look, making Scott sigh and roll her eyes. "Okay, not completely. But we've got something going on. I didn't know she'd be here. Or you, for that matter what are you doing here?"

"I'm here with Danny and his date." Lennon explained. She didn't know how Scott would handle news that she technically helped set Allison and Matt up. She was about to say something, but Allison was making her way over.

"What are you doing here?" Scott asked her.

"You told me to go out with him." Allison said, confused.

"No, not here!" Scott sighed frustratedly. "You don't get it, we have a plan."

"You have a plan?" Allison's eyes went wide. "Okay, okay. My father and Gerard they're coming here."

"Oh this isn't good." Lennon muttered under her breath, but Scott and Allison ignored her.

"What did you tell them?" Scott asked, panic in his voice.

"I-I told them. . ."

"Allison!" Scott bellowed

"I-I had to tell them!" Allison defended. Scott stared at her incredulously.

"Oh god," he mumbled, studied Allison's face. "They know it's Jackson."

"People are dying, Scott. What am I supposed to do?" Lennon felt uncomfortable standing there, witnessing this fight. It was awkward when it was a nothing fight, but it was even more so when it was about saving the town from their friend and local lizard person.

"You're supposed to trust me!" Scott told her.

"I trust you!" Allison cried. "More than anyone!"

"We had a plan," Scott said, looking at the ground, trying to pick up the pieces of their already broken idea.

"So do they." Allison assured him.

"This isn't going to work." Scott shook his head. Allison's eyes went wide again.

"Wh-what do you want me to do? Okay? I can-I can fix this!" she informed him quickly. "Please, please Scott! Just tell me."

"Just stay out of the way." he told her, and turned to leave.

"Scott!" Allison called out.

"Stay out of the way!" he growled. Scott pushed past Lennon and left the girls there, staring after him.

"Are you going to be okay?" Lennon asked, moving closer to Allison. The dark haired girl took in a deep breath and forced a smile onto her face.

"Yeah, I'm going to be fine." Allison nodded. "I'm going to go find Matt. I'll see you later."

"Yeah. Text me if you need me." Lennon hugged Allison and watched her go back to where she left Matt. Lennon turned and began to walk around, looking out at the crowd, her eyes scanned over the couples making out on the pillars and a part of her wished she could be one of them, just to have that sense of whimsy. That nothing else mattered because she was a teenager and nights like this would be looked back upon as something to remember from youth, and she could tell her children about it and give them speeches like her mother did. But all of that has changed. She may not have been directly involved in all of the supernatural madness, but just knowing about it was enough to change her perspective. The truth that the things that go bump in the night were real wasn't as unsettling as the fact that her own friends were the creatures in question.

"You need to leave." Lennon whipped around to see Erica standing behind her. "Go. Now!"

"I-I can't, Danny brought me here." Lennon told her. "Erica, what's going on?"

"Jackson is here." the blonde walked forward. "You need to go, Lennon."

"If people are going to be in danger, then I'm going to stay and help." Lennon insisted. "In any way I can."

"You can't, now _please_ go." Erica grabbed Lennon's wrist and tried pulling her towards the door. Lennon planted her feet on the floor and stared determinedly at Erica.

"I'm not leaving my friends behind." Lennon told her. "I appreciate your concern for my safety, but I'm staying." Erica studied the brunette for a few moments, then let go of her wrist.

"If you're not going to leave, then it's your neck." Erica told her. "Just watch your back and be careful. We've got too much going on to rescue you."

"I'll be fine. Don't worry." Lennon assured her. Erica went to walk away, but Lennon called after her. "Make sure Isaac stays safe?"

"Of course." Erica smiled at Lennon, and there was an unspoken peace between them. "He's a part of my pack." and with that, Erica disappeared into the crowd. Lennon looked around and her eyes were met with the sight of Scott and Isaac, talking and seemingly exchanging something. She took advantage of their distracted conversation and took him in. It was the first she'd seen him in a while, having spent a lot of time with Stiles, and any other time was spent on homework and helping her increasingly pregnant mother around the house and taking care of Jude.

Isaac's tall, slender frame was slightly twisted and bent, so he could listen to Scott as they talked quickly. He had cut his hair just a bit, but it still formed the ashy blonde curls she loved to run her fingers through. His face was just as handsome as she dreamed at night and his icy blues eyes were as sharp and piercing as ever. He looked up at her abruptly, and Lennon felt his gaze pressing against her skin. The weight of his eyes on her felt like she was being pulled down to the floor, the gravity of everything they had had pushing her to a breaking point. Sucking in a deep breath she gave him a sheepish smile and briskly took off, rejoining the crowd, searching for Danny.

* * *

"Why me?" Isaac asked Scott as Scott handed him the syringe.

"Because I gotta make sure that Argent doesn't completely ruin the plan." Scott explained. "Okay look, you better do intravenously, which means in the vein. When you find him, you pull back on this plunger right here. In the neck is probably going to be the easiest. So you find a vein, you jam it in there, and pull back on the trigger. Be careful."

"Oh I doubt I'll even slightly hurt him." Isaac chuckled.

"No, I mean you." Scott looked Isaac in the eyes. "I don't want you to get hurt." an understanding flashed between them and Isaac watched Scott back away, and go find his vantage point. Isaac pushed off the wall and found Erica, setting off into the crowd to find Jackson.

"Don't lose focus," Erica began as their eyes moved over every body in the crowd. "But Lennon is here."

"I know." Isaac murmured back. They caught sight of Jackson across the room and beelined for him. "I saw her."

"I tried to get her to leave, but she's stubborn."

"That's her." Isaac said. They closed in on Jackson and Erica reached out, grazing her fingers along his neck and keeping her hand there as she turned around his body. She leaned in, pressing a light kiss on Jackson's neck and pulling him in to dance, Isaac blocking her between them, his hands on her hips. Erica leaned her head back and exposed her neck to Jackson, her lips meeting Isaac's. Both boys gave in to Erica's body. Jackson leaned forward, kissing up and down Erica's neck and Isaac slowly reached into his pocket, pulling out the syringe. He pulled back on the plunger and began raising his hand, keeping eye contact with Jackson. Suddenly his hands were at their backs, his sharp, pointed claws digging into their skin.

"She belongs to me." he growled. He pulled his claws out and let them fall to the ground, kicking the needle out of Isaac's hand. Isaac got up on his elbows, and reached for the syringe, but it was kicked farther away by a dancer. He glared at the unknowing bystander and moved for it again, finally getting his hands on it. He stood up, only a few paces behind Jackson and lunged, jamming the needle into the young man's neck. Jackson immediately went down and Isaac dragged him off, Erica helping.

* * *

"Stiles!" Lennon ran forward, grabbing the boys hand. "What's going on?"

"Uh, we're trying to keep Jackson from making another kill." he answered, pulling her along with him towards the back of the rave. "We've got his sedated so hopefully that works."

"So now what?" Lennon asked.

"I'm not sure." Stiles said. He pulled open a door and they were immediately met with Erica and Isaac getting into defensive stances.

"Uh no no no no! Just us! It's just us! Don't freak." Stiles put up his hands in surrender and they backed off.

"Is he okay?" Lennon asked, looking at Jackson, who was unconscious on a metal folding chair.

"Well," Isaac moved forward, towards Jackson. "Let's find out." he brought up his hand, and claws emerged from them. Lennon felt a small shudder move through her body, still not used to the abnormal things her friends could do. He moved his hand back towards him and swung it back out, as if to backhand Jackson across the face, but Jackson's hand shot up, grasping Isaac's forearm and digging his fingers in. His face was still relaxed, and he still seemed unconscious. "God, shit!" Isaac groaned as Jackson's hand continued to crush. Jackson finally let go and Isaac moved quickly back over, standing next to Stiles.

"Okay, no one does anything like that again, okay?" Stiles commanded as everyone nodded. Lennon moved to Isaac stood before him.

"Is it broken?" she asked, studying the bruising forming already. Isaac shook his head.

"Sprained, most likely." he answered. "But I can already feel it healing. Oh I thought the ketamine was supposed to put him out."

"Yeah, well apparently this is all we're going to get. So let's just hope that whoever's controlling him just decided to show up tonight." Erica nodded, looking to Stiles. Suddenly, Jackson's eyes opened and glared up at them all.

"I'm here." he said, his voice raspier and more gruff than usual. Everyone looked over to him, eyes wide with shock. "I'm right here with you."

"Okay that's freaky." Lennon whispered. Isaac nodded next to her as Stiles moved forward. "Stiles,"

"It's okay." he turned back, assuring her. He gave her a soft smile and turned back, pulling up the legs of his jeans as he crouched down in front of the chair Jackson was in. Everyone behind him subconsciously leaned forward.

"Jackson, is that you?" Stiles asked.

"Us." Jackson answered in the gruff voice. "We're all here." Lennon furrowed her brow and Stiles looked back at them, then turned back to Jackson.

"Are you the one killing people?" Stiles asked.

"We are the ones killing murderers." Jackson replied.

"So all the people you've killed so far-"

"Deserved it." Jackson cut in.

"So we got a little rule book that says you only go after murderers."

"Anything can break if enough pressure's applied."

"Alright, so the people you're killing are all murderers then?" Stiles questioned.

"All." Jackson answered with finality. "Each. Every one."

"Well who did they murder?" Stiles asked.

"Me." Erica, Lennon, and Isaac exchanged confused glances as Stiles shook his head a bit.

"Wait, what? What do you mean?"

"They murdered me." Isaac stood up and moved closer to the girls, Stiles glanced back at them, then turned back to see why Isaac moved. Jackson's eyes were like a reptiles. "_They murdered me_." Stiles stood up and moved back towards the group. Jackson's right arm was full-on scales and claws now, and Lennon could feel the tingle of fear creeping up and down her spine.

"Okay, alright, more ketamine. The man needs ketamine. Come on" Stiles said, holding out his hand.

"We don't have anymore." Isaac informed him, holding up the empty bottle.

"You used the whole bottle?!" Stiles' nostrils flared as he grabbed the empty bottle from Isaac. Erica patted his shoulder, her eyes wide and staring at Jackson. Isaac, Stiles and Lennon looked over as well and froze in fear. Jackson was standing up and straight, his face and body covered in scales, and he took in a deep breath, and let out a loud roar.

"Um, okay, our, everybody out!" Stiles yelled

"Go, go, go, go!" Isaac and Erica pulled Stiles and Lennon out of the all turned and shut the door, throwing their bodies against it.

"Okay, find something to move in front of the door!" Stiles said. He turned, looking for an object to do so, when the wall next to them burst, and the kanima leapt out quickly. Lennon's hand had grasped someone else's at the loud sound and she looked down, seeing it was Isaac's.

"We should go find Scott." Stiles said weakly. Everyone nodded and Stiles reached back, grabbing Lennon's hand and pulling her along with him, Lennon's other hand falling from Isaac's quickly.

Stiles and Lennon weaved through the edges of the crowd and finally made it to the door, going outside. They stepped down the stairs and out into the parking lot. Stiles pulled her around to the back, where they met Derek Hale.

"Hey, um," Stiles began as they watched the door. "So we kind of lost Jackson inside but it's-" Isaac and Erica ran through the door, and abruptly stopped, looking at the ring of sand surrounding the building that Lennon hadn't noticed before.

"What is that?" she whispered to Stiles.

"Mountain ash." he replied. "It keeps supernatural creatures confined inside of the ring. Oh my god it's working." he grinned. "Oh, this is so-I did something!" Lennon watched Stiles' mini-celebration with chagrin, looking at the scared and worrisome faces on Isaac, Erica, and Derek's faces.

"Scott. . ." Derek said under his breath.

"What?" Stiles asked, looking at the Alpha. Lennon looked over as well.

"Break it!" Derek told Stiles.

"What?! No way!" Stiles cried.

"Scott's dying!" Derek insisted.

"Okay, what? How do you know that?"

"Oh my god, Stiles! I just know!" Derek yelled hurriedly. "Break it!" Stiles nodded and turned, crouching down over the line. He lifted his hands up and waved them over the ash. As soon as the line was broken, Derek rushed over it, and into the building.

"Derek's got this handled. There's nothing more we can do." Erica said, her and Isaac approaching Lennon and Stiles. "Stiles, why don't you take Lennon home."

"I came here wi-"

"With Danny, we know." Erica said. "I'll let him know you left with Stiles." Lennon looked to Stiles, who nodded. Lennon sighed and turned, walking back towards the blue Jeep, and Stiles quickly followed, putting an arm around her back and opening the passenger door for her.

"What's wrong?" Stiles asked as they drove back towards town. Lennon shrugged noncommittally and looked at her hands in her lap.

"I don't know. Tonight was supposed to be fun and stress and werewolf free, but I guess karma had other plans." the girl murmured. "I feel so useless, Stiles. I want to help but I don't know anything about anything when it comes to this stuff."

"You think I do?" Stiles chuckled under his breath.

"You know more than I do." Lennon insisted. "I just can't stand not being able to do something."

"I know how you feel." Stiles empathized. "It sucks, not having super powers and being normal sometimes."

"I think we're far from normal." Lennon shook her head, a soft smile on her face. "We could be team human. Scrawny but sarcastic." Stiles burst out laughing, making Lennon giggle.

"I like it." he grinned over at her. "Team Human. We'll take the names, they kick the ass." Stiles pulled into his driveway and they both unbuckled their seat belts. "I'm sorry we ruined your night."

"Eh, I'm starting to get used to it." Lennon shrugged. "What are you up to tomorrow?"

"Uh, some homework, nothing else, unless Scott needs me." Stiles shrugged. "Why?"

"Well Jude has been bugging me about the next time you're coming over to play lacrosse, and I have to babysit him all day tomorrow while mom and Kevin go to a doctor's appointment and get a few things for the new nursery."

"What time do you want me over?"

"Any time." Lennon smiled. "Um, I'm making chocolate chip french toast for breakfast, so you can come around around ten, if you want."

"Oh god, yeah that sounds amazing." Stiles rested his head back on the headrest.

"Okay, well I'll see you tomorrow, Stiles." Lennon leaned over and hugged Stiles, then got out of the Jeep and walked across their yards, up her porch, and took the key from the mat, unlocking the door and heading inside for the night.

* * *

_The kanima is on the loose! Uh oh! Some Lennon/Isaac and some Lennon/Stiles for yall! Hopefully it doesn't overwhelm you guys to have both!_

_Thank you for all the reviews and lovely messages! And the favorites and follows! We're so close to 100 reviews, and that's INCREDIBLE. I've never, ever had a story with 100 reviews before, so that would be amazing!_

_So, what did you all think of the summer finale last night? I personally loved it. I loved the tie-in back to season one (Jeff's continuity throughout the seasons has been amazing to me and like I'm a sucker for that) and just ugh I was literally going nuts last night watching it because i was so ecstatic over everything and how everything went down!_

_now don't forget, reviews are love! i always love hearing from you guys!_

_xoxo_

_k_


	22. Chapter 21

Ch. 21

"We're going to have to be careful tonight." Stiles murmured to Lennon as they stood in the kitchen, fixing Jude a snack. He was sitting at the table coloring and Stiles glanced over at him. "Make sure he stays inside after dusk."

"I know, Stiles." Lennon whispered back, spreading peanut butter onto graham crackers. Stiles took chocolate chips and dotted a few designs on them. "I made sure Mom and Kevin would be back before dinner. I said I had to go to Allison's early to pick out outfits for Lydia's party tonight."

"Ooh, what are you going to wear?" Stiles asked her. Lennon smirked up at him and shrugged.

"I was thinking a leather catsuit." she said simply. Stile's eyes glazed at the image forming in his brain and Lennon snorted with laughter. "I don't know, probably a dress or something." she picked up the plate with the snacks and breezed past him, going to the table and setting it in front of Jude, who tossed his crayon down and grabbed for a graham cracker.

"What are you drawing, Jude?" Lennon looked over his shoulder at the picture as Stiles sat next to Jude, licking peanut butter from his finger. On the paper was what seemed to be a wedding, a girl with a big, poufy white dress and a boy in a black suit were standing next to each other with big smiles as the fellow stick-people guests threw what seemed to be confetti.

"It's you and Stiles getting married." Jude explained while chewing. He took his small finger and jabbed it at the people on the paper. "See? That's you and that's Stiles. There's me, I married you."

"Why would you think Stiles and I would get married?" Lennon asked, sitting down across from Stiles and picking up a graham cracker herself.

"Because I want you to." Jude shrugged.

"Well there we have it." Stiles said, leaning back in his chair. "I guess we're getting married, Lennon."

"I guess so." Lennon nodded. She held up her left had and wiggled her fingers. "Tiffany, one-point-five carats, gold band, emerald cut."

"I'm on it." Stiles pretended to write it down on a scrap piece of paper and folded it up, shoving it in his pocket and winking.

"You guys can't kiss though," Jude shook his head.

"Why not?" Stiles asked. Jude scrunched his face and looked at Stiles.

"'Cause kissing is _gross_!" he said indignantly. Stiles and Lennon exchanged devious glances and Lennon stood up, moving around the table.

"Kissing is gross?" Lennon asked. "Stiles did you know that?"

"I had no idea." he shook his head as Lennon sat on his lap. "Maybe we should test his theory? Make sure it's legit."

"I don't know," Lennon shook her head. "What if we get sick? What if we catch cooties?"

"Don't worry, I know how to do the cootie shot." Stiles replied. "C'mon! It's for science!"

"Well, if it's for science." Lennon shrugged and leaned over, both of the teens holding back laughter as their lips got closer and Jude became increasingly grossed out. Their lips had just barely touched, and Jude jumped from his seat and ran into the living room.

"You guys are guh-roooss!" he shouted. Lennon tossed her head back and cackled as Stiles broke into laughter.

"Man, I wish I had a kid brother." he mused, lifting a hand from Lennon's waist and wiping a tear from his eye as his laughs turned into chuckles.

"You can have mine. I'm getting a new one in four months." Lennon joked. Stiles laughed and shook his head, his left arm still wound around Lennon's waist. "So what did you get Lydia for her birthday?"

"Uh, well. . ." Stiles rubbing the back of his head and squinted at the table. "I have to decide. I kind of went a little crazy at the mall and just bought a bunch of things. I'll return the ones that I don't give her but I'm still deciding."

"You're so sweet, Stiles." Lennon murmured to him. "Whatever you pick, she's going to love it."

"I hope so." Stiles nodded.

"Just remember that buying your way into her life isn't a good idea, yeah?"

"I know, I know." Stiles nodded again. He sighed and Lennon pressed her lips to his temple, leaving a soft kiss before getting up and going to the living room to find Jude.

* * *

"I was thinking maybe this dress?" Lennon held up a pale pink party dress, holding it against her frame. Allison scrunched her nose and shook her head.

"Washes you out. What about this?" she picked up a red dress from her bed and Lennon nodded.

"Put that in the 'maybe' pile." Lennon advised. The girls stood back and looked over their options and Allison's bedroom door burst open. Lydia marched in, her arms weighed down with Macy's bags.

"Clear you schedules, girls!" she grinned. "This may take a while." she walked over to the bed and set the bags on top of the piles of clothing.

"How many outfits do you plan on wearing tonight?" Allison asked. Lydia rifled through the bags.

"It's my birthday party." she answered simply. She pulled out a grayscale, figure hugging dress. "I'm thinking host dress," she tossed that one on the bed then pulled out a light navy blue dress. "evening dress, then after-hours casual."

"I noticed that you didn't send out any invites. . ." Allison began. Her and Lennon had talked about that subject earlier. Ever since Lydia had been bitten by Peter Hale, she went from head bitch in charge to the girl who probably needs a psychiatrist.

"It's the biggest party of the year, Allison." Lydia giggled, pulling out more dresses. A pretty floral pink on, and another tight grey striped one. "Everyone knows."

"I was wondering if maybe this year things, you know, might be different."

"Why would anything be different?" Lydia looked at the two girls.

"J-Just 'cause things have been off lately. Things an-and people." Lennon hurried to speak.

"Like Jackson." Allison suggested. Lydia's head snapped up and she studied the dark-haired girl closely.

"What do you care about Jackson?" Lydia asked.

"Do you know if he's coming tonight?" Allison inquired, trying to look innocent. Lennon cleared her throat and looked at all the dresses that Lydia had laid out, letting Allison fend for herself.

"Everyone's coming." Lydia stated, gauging Allison's intentions. She stared her down for a few more moments before turning back to the dresses and picking up a taupe, gauzy short dress. "This one is American Rag. Mm, I love it." she held it up. "For me, not for you guys."

"It's cute." Lennon nodded.

"This one's Material Girl, it's for you." Lydia picked up the floral dress and held it up for Allison." This one is yours, Lennon. She picked up a tight, emerald green dress and handed it to the girl. There was a knock and Lydia turned, holding up the blue dress. "Mrs. Argent! What do you think of this one?"

"Oh, it's lovely." she smiled. "Allison, uh, can I grab you for a moment to talk? Just the two of us?" Lennon and Lydia started setting the outfits in order of how Lydia was going to wear them.

"Um, can we do it later?" Allison asked, watching them and glancing up to her mom.

"Actually, uh, to be honest, sooner would be-would be better." Mrs. Argent answered, rubbing her left shoulder.

"Party's at ten!" Lydia pointed out, then went back to organizing the outfits.

"Will you be around before then?" Mrs. Argent asked her daughter.

"I think so," Allison sighed.

"You think so?"

"I don't know!" Allison said, exasperatedly. She turned back to Lydia.

"You need a slip."

"Eh, I guess that black one will fit."

"Alright, here you go." Lydia handed her the slip. Allison put it under the dress and shook her head giggling.

"No, it's too much."

"I think I like it." Lennon mused.

"You like it?"

"Yeah, no I do." Lydia agreed. She held necklaces in her hand and held it up towards the dress.

"Happy birthday, by the way." Allison smiled.

"Thank you!" Lydia laughed. "I actually appreciate that." the girls giggled and continued completing the outfits and going over hair and makeup ideas.

"Okay, I've got to go make sure everything is set up, and get ready. I'll see you girls at ten-oh-two. Any later and you're late. I don't appreciate lateness." Lydia tossed all her outfits back in the bags and pulled them onto her arms and left.

"Well, let's start getting ready now, otherwise we might be late." Lennon deadpanned. Allison laughed and nodded, and the girls began getting ready.

* * *

"Wow. . ." Lennon bit her lip, looking across Lydia's backyard. "This party is dead." she walked over to where Allison, Scott and Stiles were standing.

"Uh, Jackson's not here." Allison told them.

"Yeah, no one's here." Lennon mumbled.

"Maybe it's just early." Scott suggested, looking around.

"Or maybe nobody's coming because Lydia's turned into the town wack-job." Stiles sighed. Allison rolled her eyes.

"Well we have to do something because we've completely ignored her for the past two weeks."

"She's completely ignored Stiles for the past ten years." Scott told her. Stiles looked over to them with pseudo-confidence and shrugged.

"I prefer to think of it as me not having been on her radar yet. . ." he informed them. Lennon patted his back and sighed.

"We don't owe her a party." Scott shrugged.

"Well what about the chance to get back to normal?" Allison argued.

"Normal?" Scott questioned, furrowing his brow.

"She wouldn't be the town wack-job if it wasn't for us!" Allison hissed. They all looked over to Lydia, who was looking around the nearly empty pool and trying to hide the disappointment.

"I guess I could use my co-captain status to get the lacrosse team here." Scott pulled out his phone.

"Yeah, I also know some people who can get this thing going. Like, really going." Stiles nodded.

"Who?" Allison asked.

"I met them the other night." Stiles grinned. "Let's just say they know how to party."

"I don't know anyone but you losers, and you're already here, so. . ." Lennon shrugged. The guys walked away and made a few calls, then came back.

"You're gonna love this." Stiles leaned down to Lennon and whispered in her ear. They stood around and after almost a half an hour, the music playing from the hanging speakers was overshadowed by the sounds of a real party.

"Are, are those-" Lennon gasped. "Are those your friends?" a large group of cross-dressers was strutting out to the pool, along with the lacrosse team and all the other Beacon Hills High students ready to party.

"Yes, yes they are." Stiles grinned. Lennon looked up at him and grinned back.

"Where did you meet them?"

"Remember the night I told you about all of the werewolf-kanima stuff?" Lennon nodded. "Well after you fell asleep the kanima was at this gay club and I met them there."

"Stiles Stilinski, you amazingly wonderful person, you!" she kissed his cheek and took his hand, dragging him over to his friends.

* * *

_I have to say, I woke up yesterday and I was like "Yeah, Teen Wolf tonight!" and then I got really sad because it's not back until January. So I channeled my feelings into writing this chapter out! How are all of you guys holding up so far in the hiatus?_

_I've figured out how I'm going to try and stretch out the chapters so that I don't plow through season 3A too quickly, but that's my secret. I promise, you're going to like it! :)_

_As always, reviews are love! We're six away from one hundred and that's INSANE! :D_

_xoxo_

_k_


	23. Chapter 22

Ch. 22

"What if we break free?" Boyd asked, watching Derek secure the chains that were wound around his body.

"Then you'll do anything you can to get out of here." Derek answered. "Probably try to kill me, then each other, and kill anything else with a heartbeat." he turned and moved towards Erica and Isaac. "I need you to hold her." he told Isaac. Isaac wound his long arms under Erica's and held her tightly as Derek moved closer with the metal crown.

"So how come she gets to wear the headband?" Isaac asked curiously.

"Because she'll be able to withstand more pain than the two of you." Derek explained. Erica looked down at the contraption and shuddered slightly. "I've got an extra one if you really want it.

"Nah, I'm alright." Isaac shook his head. Derek looked from Isaac to Erica.

"You ready?" he asked. Erica took a deep, shaky breath and nodded.

"Yeah." Derek lifted placed the crown on top of her head and straightened it. He wound his fingers around the front bolt, and began twisting it. Erica's breathing picked up, and the sound of bone being cracked echoed in the small, hollow space. Erica cried out as Derek continued to twist the bolt, and Isaac's stomach turned. He kept hold of Erica, but averted his eyes, looking towards the ground, doing his best not to physically witness Erica's pain. He glanced over to Boyd, whose face was scrunched up. Boyd's eyes met Isaac and they shared a moment, both upset over their friend, their family member in pain.

It felt like hours, but finally, Erica was chained. She had passed out a few times, the pain being too much, but Derek continued. Once she had been completely secured, Isaac moved away from them. He sat down in a filthy, ripped up seat, and let Derek begin chaining him up. As the moon rose higher in the sky, a pounding in his head spread to his whole body, making him squirm. Boyd and Erica were yelling and growling in the back, and Isaac knew they felt it too.

"How do you not feel this?" Isaac asked, looking at Derek, waiting for some sensei-like advice.

"I feel every second of it." Derek assured him. Isaac was losing patience as his body thrummed with the energy from full moon. He had never wondered what it would feel like to be a guitar string, but he knew now, and all he wanted was for it to stop. It was making him dizzy and anxious.

"Then how do you control it?" he huffed out, staring at his Alpha with his wide, blue eyes.

"Find an anchor." Derek told him, barely glancing up from securing the chains around the legs of the bench seat. "Something meaningful to you. Bind yourself to it, keep the human side in control."

"What is it for you?"

"Anger." Derek shrugged. "But it doesn't have to be that for everybody."

"You mean Scott?"

"Yeah." Derek nodded and shook the chains a bit, tugging at them. "All right, that should do it." he tugged again and the leg of the bench in front of Isaac ripped from the floor of the bus. Derek's eyes went wide and he looked back up at Isaac, who was regarding him with concern. Looking back at Erica and Boyd he watched as their eyes shifted to the golden yellow and his mind quickly caught up to his actions, realizing that the rusted out, decrepit old bus wasn't the best place to lock up three teenage werewolves with new super-human strength and agility.

"Shit." he murmured under his breath, getting up and running out of the bus for heavier, thicker chains.

* * *

Lennon had broken away from her new friends a while ago, going in search of a drink or two. Luckily, Lydia had been just around the corner, handing her a plastic tumbler with punch in it. She had given it a sniff and took a sip, moving to find Stiles again. Moving through the crowd of inebriated teens and drag queens, Lennon downed her drink after having it slosh out of the cup, dangerously close to the emerald green fabric that covered her. Lennon hopped onto her tiptoes, trying to find Stiles, or Allison, or just anyone.

As she moved through the house, her stomach turned, and she quickly raised a hand to her mouth. She dodged around people finding the bathroom and quickly knocking before going in. She shut and locked the door and leaned over the toilet, coughing and gagging a few times before her stomach finally rejected its contents.

Standing upright, Lennon ripped toilet paper from the roll and wiped her mouth and tossed it into the bowl. She moved to flush when her eyes caught movement. A small, purple petal was floating in the toilet bowl. Lennon furrowed her brow, then shrugged, considering someone drunk kid flushed Mrs. Martin's expensive, flown in from France, potpourri. Flushing the toilet, Lennon crouched down as much as she could in the tight dress and opened the cupboards under the sink, finding what she was looking for. She grabbed the bottle of bright green liquid and poured it into the cap, tossing it into her mouth and swishing it around for a minute before spitting it into the sink. Lennon rinsed off the cap and screwed it back on, placing the bottle of mouthwash back under the cupboard, then fixed her hair and makeup, then left the bathroom, heading back out to party.

* * *

"You feeling okay?" Stiles asked as he and Scott walked around outside. Each had a fresh glass of punch and the moon was high in the sky. Scott had had a funny look on his face and Stiles was beginning to get concerned.

"It's not the moon." Scott assured him, knowing one of Stiles' concerns was Scott shifting in front of everyone, then tearing off his face. "It's different." Scott shook his head and walked on, Stiles moving to follow when a familiar voice stopped him.

"Why am I wearing black?" Sheriff Stilinski stood before Stiles, a bottle of Jack Daniel's clutched in his hand as he sneered at a curious teen. He was dressed in an all black suit, one Stiles remembered well. "What are you, an idiot? I just came from a funeral! You know people wear black at funerals!"

"Dude, chill. It was just-" the teen attempted to call Stiles' dad down, but it only angered him more as the music was cut and people began watching.

"Get out of my face." the Sheriff pushed the kid away and took a long swig from the amber colored bottle. Stiles' eyes widened and looked at his father in shock and disbelief. Paul turned and noticed his son.

"It's you." he said, waving the bottle haphazardly towards his son. "It's all you. You know, every day I saw her lying in that hospital, slowly dying. . .I thought, 'How the hell am I supposed to raise this stupid kid on my own? This hyperactive little bastard that keeps ruining my life?'"

Stiles' eyes began to brim with tears as he listened to his fathers' rant, everyone around them watching the ordeal play out. He locked his jaw as his father continued.

"It's all you." Paul repeated, lifting the hand he held the bottle with and raised a finger, pointing at the younger Stilinski. "It's all you, Stiles. You killed your mother, you hear me? You killed her, and now, you're killing me." he took a steady breath and reared back, his arm swinging as he threw the bottle towards Stiles. Stiles jumped and lifted an arm to his face, ducking behind the pillar next to him. There was no sound of a crash or the shattering of glass. Stiles put his arm down and looked around. The music was back and just as loud as before, and it seemed as if the moment never happened. Stiles dragged a hand down his face and looked around again, making sure no one saw him with tears in his eyes.

* * *

Lennon walked out onto the patio and looked around the crowd. A glimpse of curly, ashy blonde hair caught her eyes and she raised herself up higher to look above the sea of people. She saw it again and moved to follow him quickly.

"Isaac!" she called out. "Isaac wait!" she pushed through the crowd, seeing the back of Isaac getting closer.

"Lennon!" Lennon's head whipped around to the right. The voice was unmistakeable.

"Jude?" she whispered. She looked around

"LENNON!" she turned, the voice coming from her left now. Jude's voice sent shivers down Lennon's spine. He sounded hurt and in trouble.

"Jude, keep calling! I'll find you!" Jude did as told and Lennon pushed through the drunken teens, and moved towards the sound of his voice. She began walking more frantically and shoving people out of the way until she came upon a rickety garden door.

"Lennon! Help!" Jude's voice rang from behind it. "I'm scared!" Lennon pushed open the gate and charged through, letting it swing shut roughly behind her.

"Jude?" she called as the sounds of the party faded away. It was dark and a low fog twisted around her calved and ankles as she walked carefully through the mist. "Jude, where are you?"

"Mom, I didn't know Jude was going to follow me to this party!" Lennon defended. "But I promise, I'll find him!" she pointed towards the ground and Lennon gasped, lifting both her hands in shock and covering her mouth. Jude was laying on the ground, his skin pale, his lips blue. His normally vibrant brown eyes were glassy and vacant. There were bloody tears at his shirt and a pool of blood around him. Lennon dropped to her knees, her eyes welled up with tears as she crawled over to kneel next to him.

"Mom, I-" Lennon's voice cracked as she looked up to her mom. She looked down at her mom's feet and furrowed her brow. "Mom, you're bleeding!" her mother looked down at her, then down at her legs. Blood was trickling down from the hem of her dress, pooling around her bare feet. Lennon looked up from her mothers' legs to her stomach, where her pale hands were clutching.

"Mom, please!" Lennon cried, moving towards her. But her mother was already on the ground, gasping for air as the miscarriage drained her of blood, suffocating her heart of oxygen. An arm wound around Lennon's waist from behind, pulling her up from her knees. Her back hit something and she felt a warm breath on her neck.

"You know, there's a ritual that we have to go through as werewolves, when we leave the ones we love behind." Isaac whispered in her ear, trailing a long claw down her neck gently. "We can't have any ties to human world anymore, especially when we join a pack. And now you're my last one."

"Isaac, please." Lennon whimpered.

"I'm really sorry, Lennon. But I have to. I'd rather be a beta than an omega, you know." Isaac chuckled softly. "It's too bad, I really did love you. But I'll move on. Allison is looking pretty great lately, so we'll see where that goes."

"Stop it." Lennon choked on a sob. Isaac's hand flattened against her stomach and he sank his claws in, slowly. Lennon gasped in pain as his other hand wrapped her neck.

"See you in the next life." he murmured in her ear, then sucked a quick breath between his teeth and ripped his claws against her skin. Lennon shrieked and looked around. She was completely alone, in the deserted lot behind Lydia's house. She quickly brought her hands to her stomach and neck, feeling nothing but the material of her dress and the cool metal chain of her necklace. She pulled her hands away and inspected them closely. There was no blood, and she sighed in relief, and got up from her knees. Wiping the tears from her face, she pulled down the hem of her dress and walked back to the party.

Lennon walked around the pool and was about to head inside when she looked and saw Scott and Stiles by the jacuzzi. Stiles was slumped against the wall and Scott was shaking him.

"What's going on?" Lennon knelt down next to him. Scott looked over at her and eyed her closely.

"You hallucinated too?" he asked. Lennon sniffled and nodded.

"What's wrong with Stiles?" Scott sighed.

"I think he had a bad one and he's been completely catatonic since." Lennon nodded and leaned forward, resting her hand on his shoulder.

"Stiles, come on, please. We really need you right now." she pleaded. Stiles' head just lolled to one side, his blank stare not budging.

"Drink the water." Scott tried to coax him. "Stiles, drink it. Something's happening, and I need you to sober up right now. Come on, Stiles."

"What do you think you're doing?" A big, dark-skinned girl asked, peeping through the pillars. "You want to sober him up fast, that's not the way to do it."

"You can do better?" Scott asked hopefully.

"I can do best, boy." she told him. She reached over and grabbed Stiles by the shoulders and pulled him towards her, but dunked him down into the water quickly and pulled him back up, splattering herself, Lennon and Scott with water.

"Woo!" Stiles yelped, spluttering.

"How do you feel?" the girl asked.

"Like I might have to revisit my policy on hitting a girl." Stiles deadpanned.

"Yeah, he's sober." Scott and Lennon thanked her and got Stiles standing again.

"We have to find Lydia." Scott said. "I haven't seen her since she gave me a drink, and I don't think anyone else has, either."

The three split up and looked around the house for Lydia, meeting up again on their way back to the pool.

"I couldn't find her." Lennon told Scott and Stiles.

"I can't find her either," Stiles sighed. "And anyone who drank that crap, they're freaking out."

"Tell me about it." Lennon muttered. They looked out at the crowd, and kids were jumping into the pool, yelling like crazy.

"Yeah, I can see that."

"What the hell are we gonna do?" Stiles asked.

"I don't know, but we gotta-" Scott was cut off by angry shouting, and the three looked over to see a bunch of teens picking up Matt and swinging him over the pool.

"I can't swim!" He yelled. "No, no, no, no! Stop, guys! I can't swim, I can't swim! I can't-" but the tossed him in anyway. Matt hit the water and sank down, spluttering to the top, splashing around, trying to stay afloat. Scott, Stiles and Lennon watched closely as he got close to the side, and Jackson moved forward, grabbing Matt's arm and pulling him from the water. Jackson glared at the surrounding students as Matt looked around, catching his breath.

"What are you looking at?" he snapped at someone too close to him. Jackson went off through the crowd, heading towards the side door. Matt glared at everyone again and moved through the crowd, heading for the trio. Matt glared at Scott as Stiles gently pushed Lennon directly behind him, as if shielding her. Matt pushed through them and went into the house as sirens began to wail.

"The cops are here!" someone shouted.

"Party's over!"

"Run!" there was a mad-dash for the exits as people ran away from the scene. Scott ran around through the gate, Stiles and Lennon following closely.

"You guys go home. I'll take care of this." Scott ran off ahead once they got to the front yard. "I'll see you there!" Stiles nodded and took Lennon's hand, leading her to his Jeep.

"So now what's happening?" Lennon asked.

"Well, we're pretty sure Matt is the guy controlling the kanima, and now we have to do something about it." Stiles told her.

"What are we going to do?"

"I have no frickin' idea."

* * *

_season 2 is winding down yall! season 3a is next ayy!_

_thanks so much for all the reviews and favorites and follows! i love you all!_

_reviews are little mini tyler posey's and who doesn't love tyler posey, i mean come on the kid is adorable!_

_xoxo_

_k_


	24. Chapter 23

Ch. 23

Lennon stood behind Stiles at the desk, his dad and Scott flanking her on both sides as they peered down to the yearbook lay open to their class year. Most of the faces were crossed out, but one was circled. Matt Daehler's.

"So this kid's the real killer?" Paul asked, his hand perched on his hip as he leaned against Stiles' desk, looking down incredulously at the book.

"Yeah." Stiles nodded, giving Scott a quick glance as Lennon tugged on the sleeves of her sweater. She was exceptionally glad she had taken to keeping a spare set of clothes in the Stilinski house for when she crashed over and had no time to run home and get ready before school. She tapped the toe of her sneaker anxiously against the carpeted floor.

"No." Paul shook his head.

"Yes!" Stiles insisted.

"No." Paul stood upright, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked down at his son with a finality in his tone that made Lennon want to backtrack the whole story.

"Dad, come on!" Stiles pleaded. "Everybody knows that the police look for ways to connect the victims in a murder, okay? So all you have to do, is like, look through their transcripts and figure out which class they all had in common."

"Yeah, except for the fact that the rave promoter Kara wasn't in Harris' class." Paul pointed out.

"Maybe that was a cold lead?" Lennon suggested. "Listen, I don't know how real-life cops do things, but my mom and dad have written and produced at least a thousand crime shows. Sometimes there's a random kill in a serial killers line because they want to throw the cops off the trail before they realize the true intent. That way they can keep mercilessly killing and pretend there are no ties to humanity."

"Wow. . ." Stiles nodded approvingly at Lennon, who gave him a small, bashful smile.

"As smart as that is, Lennon, it'd take weeks to follow up on that theory. We don't have that time, guys." Paul shook his head.

"All right, all right, okay you're right, sorry." Stiles sighed. "Then I guess they dropped the charges against him?" Paul regarded his son suspiciously, pointing a finger at him.

"No, you know what? They're not dropping the charges." he answered. "But that doesn't prove anything." Stiles opened his mouth to respond but Paul held up his hand to stop him.

"Scott, do you believe this?" Paul asked.

"It's really hard to explain how we know this, but you just gotta trust us." Scott told him. "We know it's Matt."

"Yeah, he took Harris' car, okay?" Stiles chimed him. "Look, he knew that if a cop found tire tracks at one of the murders, and that if enough of the victim's were in Harris' class, that they'd arrest him."

"Matt is smart, Paul. Like, sociopathic serial killer smart." Lennon input, supporting Stiles. "And he's weirdly obsessive. It gives me the wiggins." Paul stared at her, then looked over to Scott, then Stiles.

"Alright, fine." he sighed, giving in to the teens. "I'll allow the remote possibility, but give me a motive. I mean, why would this kid want most of the two-thousand and six swim team and its coach dead?"

"Isn't it obvious?!" Stiles threw his arms out to the sides. "Our swim team sucks!" Lennon stepped forward, clearing her throat as Paul and Scott looked at Stiles with a mix of confusion and disappointment across their faces. Lennon lifted her hand and gave Stiles a rough smack to the back of his head. "What? They haven't won in like, six years!. . .Okay we don't have a motive yet. But I mean, come on, does Harris?"

"What do you want me to do?" Paul asked quietly, finally giving in.

"We need to look at the evidence." Scott informed him.

"Yeah, that would be in the station, where I no longer work." Paul slapped them back to reality with that statement.

"Trust me, they'll let you in." Stiles insisted.

"T-Trust you?" Paul asked incredulously. Stiles shrunk a bit and backtracked.

"Trust-trust Scott? And Lennon?" he offered.

"Them I trust." Paul told Stiles, nodding. "Alright, let's go." they all piled into Paul's truck and headed towards the station. They entered the station and the woman behind the desk looked up at them.

"It's two in the morning. . ." she said, looking at Paul.

"Believe me, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't extremely important." Paul told her.

"We look at the hospital stuff first, okay?" Stiles whispered.

"Why?" Scott asked.

"Because all the murders were committed by Jackson, except for one, you remember?" Stiles explained.

"The pregnant girl, Jessica." Scott nodded.

"Yeah." Stiles affirmed. "Since Matt had to kill her himself, somebody from the hospital could've seen him."

"How do we put Matt at the other murders though?" Lennon whispered, looking between the two of them. "We can't exactly tell the judicial system that he was controlling a giant lizard person and making it kill people."

"Guys." Paul turned around and ushered them through the door as the woman behind the desk buzzed them through. They went through the archives and pulled the evidence from the case out and went into Paul's old office. They watched the surveillance footage from the hospital, rewinding and freezing and rewinding again.

"I don't know guys." Paul sighed. "I mean look at this, there was a six car pile-up that night. The hospital was jammed."

"Alright, just keep going." Stiles insisted as all three teens leaned over the desk to watch the monitor. "Look, he had to have passed one of the cameras on that floor to get to Jessica, okay? He's gotta be somewhere on this footage."

"Oh hold on, stop!" Scott jumped, pointing to the screen as Paul rushed to pause the tape. "Did you see that? Scroll back." Paul reversed it and played it again.

"That's him!" Stiles exclaimed. "That's Matt!"

"All I see is the back of someone's head." Paul said.

"Matt's head, yeah." Stiles insisted.

"I sit behind him when there's combined study hall," Lennon told him. "I'd know that curly headed freak anywhere."

"Me too, I sit behind him in history." Stiles nodded, agreeing with Lennon. "He's got a very distinct cranium, it's weird."

"Are you crazy?" Paul asked him.

"Alright fine, then look at his jacket, huh? How many people do you know who wear black leather jackets." Stiles gestured to the screen and Lennon exhaled loudly, lifting a hand and pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Millions, literally." Paul deadpanned.

"Okay can we scroll forward." Scott interrupted. "There's got to be a shot of him coming at one of the cameras." They watched as Paul clicked play and they watched as Matt walked further into the hospital. Suddenly, a nurse came around the corner, almost colliding with Matt.

"Right there, stop stop!" Stiles told Paul. "See? There he is again!"

"You mean there's the back of his head again." Paul groaned.

"Okay but look," Lennon said, pointing towards the screen. "He's talking to someone." The alleged Matt has stopped to talk with the nurse, and Paul paused the video. Scott leaned forward a bit.

"He's talking to my mom." Scott said. He stood upright and pulled out his cellphone, scrolling through his contacts and then dialed the office phone, setting it on speakerphone. Stiles, Paul, and Lennon watched as they waited for her to pick up, and when she did, Scott started in.

"Scott, you know how many people I deal with in a day?" she asked.

"This one is sixteen." Scott reasoned. "He's got dark hair, looks like a normal teenager."

"Yeah, he looks evil!" Stiles chimed in. Lennon pinched his arm and he turned and glared at her. She rolled her eyes and listened to Mrs. McCall.

"Scott, I already talked to the police about this." she said.

"Okay mom, I'm gonna take a picture and send it to you." Scott took his cellphone and took a picture of Matt from the yearbook and sent it to Melissa's phone. After a few moments of silence, Scott spoke. "Did you get it?"

"Yeah."

"Do you recognize him?" Scott asked. "Do you remember him?"

"Yeah, I did. I mean, I remember I stopped him because he was tracking mud through the hall." Melissa answered. "Scott, what's going on?"

"It-it's nothing, mom. I'll explain later. I gotta go." he hung up abruptly. Paul reached for a file and opened it briskly.

"We've got shoe prints alongside the tire tracks at the trailer site." he mumbled, looking for the photos.

"And if they match then that puts Matt at the scene of three murders." Stiles concluded. "The trailer, the hospital, the rave."

"Actually four." Paul told them. "A credit card receipt for an oil change was signed by Matt at the garage where the mechanic was killed." Paul stood up and Stiles' eyes widened.

"When?" Scott asked. Paul looked at Stiles.

"A couple of hours before you got there." he told them.

"Alright, dad, if one's an incident, two's a coincidence, and three's a pattern, what's four?"

"Four's enough for a warrant." Paul told them. A feeling of hope bubbled up in Lennon's chest as they realized they could end this once and for all. "Scott, call your mom back, see how quick she can get here. If I can get an official I.D., I can get a search warrant. Stiles, go to the front desk. Tell them to let Scott's mom in when she gets here."

"On it!" Stiles practically leaped over the desk and bounded out of the room.

"Lennon, follow him in case he gets too excited and forgets what he's doing."

"Yup." Lennon saluted Paul and ran out of the room. "Stiles?" she called as she neared the front of the station. It was eerily quiet and she reached up, gripping her black jasper pendant as the hope that bubbled into her stomach dissipated into an uneasy nervousness. She walked farther towards the reception area when an arm shot out and pulled her into a dark office, the hand coming up and quickly covering her mouth.

"Hey there, buddy." Matt breathed into her ear. Lennon's blood froze and fear ran in waves down her back. "What do you say we find your friend?" she heard the click of a gun and her breathing picked up as she felt the cool metal on her temple. Matt pushed her forward and out into the hall again, her mouth still covered. They walked to the front of the station and Lennon saw Stiles' back turned to them. She wanted to bite Matt's hand and scream for Stiles to run, for Paul and Scott to race out and take Matt down. But she knew it would be a death sentence not only to herself, but to Stiles, or his dad, or everyone.

Matt reached Stiles as he turned, and Lennon saw the woman who was working the front desk on the floor in a pool of her own blood. Her eyes widened and Matt removed the gun from her temple, aiming towards Stiles as the teen turned around. Stiles' eyes connected with the gun and he looked up at Matt, and down to Lennon, then back to Matt.

"Let's go visit your dad, Stiles." Matt nodded back down the hallway, towards the Sheriff's office. Stiles hesitated and Matt gripped Lennon tighter, making her wince. Stiles noticed and moved, leading the way down the hallway as Matt jabbed the gun in his back. They all shuffled down the hallway back into the office. Matt nudged Stiles towards Scott and let go of Lennon, pushing her harshly towards him. Stiles caught Lennon as she tripped, and helped her stand straight up, keeping her close.

"Matt?" Paul asked, his arms already held up. "It's Matt, right? Matt, whatever's going on, I guarantee you there's a solution that doesn't involve a gun."

"You know, it's funny you say that." Matt smirked. "Because I don't think you're aware of just how right you are." an image of the kanima on Scott's roof flashed in Lennon's head and she gulped, but straightened her posture. She wasn't about to let Matt know she was scared.

"I know you don't wanna hurt people." Paul reasoned.

"Actually I wanna hurt a _lot_ of people." Matt corrected lightly, as if he were just having a bit of friendly banter. "You four weren't on my list, but I could be persuaded. And one way is to try dialing somebody on your cell phone, like McCall is doing." Scott pulled his hand from his jeans pocket promptly. "That. . .That could definitely get someone hurt. Everyone." they stared at him. "Now!"

"Come on," Everyone scurried and dumped their cellphones onto Paul's desk.

"Alright, how about a tour? Let's look at the cellblocks." Matt suggested. Paul nodded and shuffled slowly around the desk. "Lead the way, Sheriff." Paul walked towards the door and Stiles rushed to follow, hovering behind his dad like a shield. Lennon and Scott followed, and Matt behind all of them, the gun aimed at them. They reached the cell block and stood inside the room.

"Scott, Lennon, over here." Matt waved them over towards him. Lennon looked to Scott, who gave her a nod and they walked over to him, standing a few feet away. She gripped the thin leather strap of her cross-body bag tightly. "See those cuffs, Stiles? Why don't you play Sheriff, and cuff your dad to the bench."

"What?"

"Just for the hell of it, do it." Matt shrugged. Paul moved towards the bench slowly and sat down. "I don't have all day, Stiles."

"Fine." Stiles moved towards his dad, grabbing the cuff that was dangling from the bar and took his dad's wrist, locking the metal around it.

"Tighter." Matt instructed, noting how obvious Stiles was at trying to give his dad a getaway. Paul sighed and looked up to his son.

"Do as he says, Stiles." Stiles rolled his eyes and tightened the cuffs, then stepped away. Matt pushed him towards the door and ushered him, Scott and Stiles out, leaving the Sheriff by himself. They walked down the hallway of the precinct and Scott stopped as he looked down an adjacent hall. Stiles and Lennon nearly collided with him and froze at the sight. The floor and walls were covered in blood as three other cops laid lifeless on the ground, bloody, gaping wounds on their bodies. Lennon could feel her feign of strength dissolve as her eyes took in the sight.

"What, are you gonna kill everyone in here?" Scott asked, shocked.

"No," Matt shrugged, leaning against the entryway. "That's what Jackson's for. I just think about killing them, and he does it." Matt stood upright and then put his arm out, roughly pushing Scott and Sties forward, and grabbing Lennon's elbow and dragging her down the hall. Once they were back in the Sheriff's office, Matt pulled a chair towards the door and sat down in it, continuing to point the gun at them.

"Now, you guys are going to shred every single piece of evidence against me, and delete any file that even references me on that computer." Matt told them. "And if you leave anything out, I'll kill you all. Starting with Stiles, and ending with Scott." The three grabbed the files from the desk and Scott plugged in the document shredder, and they set to work, Stiles logging onto the computer. After twenty minutes, Stiles spoke up.

"Deleted." he said, looking up from the computer. "And we're done, alright. So Matt, since all the people you brutally murdered deserved it because they killed you first-whatever that means-I think we're good here, right?" Matt regarded Stiles with a curious expression, as if he was trying to understand a pop culture reference that didn't make sense. "So I'll just get my dad, and we'll go, you know. You can continue on the whole vengeance thing. Enjoy the kanima." The sound of a car pulling into the parking lot made all of them turn, the headlights pouring through the open blinds.

"Sounds like your mom's here, McCall." Matt murmured.

"Matt, don't do this." Scott pleaded, trying to keep a bit of authority and reason in his voice. "When she comes to the door, I'll just tell her to leave. I'll tell her we didn't find anything. Please, Matt." the sound of the door opening made all three hostage teens' hearts sink.

"If you don't move now, I'm gonna kill Stiles first. And then Lennon, and then your mom." Matt threatened. "Go. Now." Matt stood up, pushing Scott towards the door and Stiles and Lennon hurried to follow. Lennon could already feel her upper arm bruising from where Matt had grabbed and dragged her earlier. He walked behind them and Scott lead the way to the front. After a brief standoff at the door, Scott finally opened it. Instead of his mom, Derek Hale stood in front of them.

"Oh thank God." Scott sighed in relief. Lennon fought a relieved smile at the fact that there was backup now. But as soon as the urge came it went, and Derek fell motionless to the floor, Jackson standing behind him, only half shifted into the kanima.

"Well fuck." Lennon sighed under her breath.

* * *

_the shit is hitting the fans in Beacon Hills, huh? What do you guys think?_

_Only two more reviews until 100! Whomever is the 100th reviewer will get a shout out at the beginning of the next chapter! :D_

_you guys are so awesome! even you shy, silent readers! i love each and every person who puts any effort into reading this story!_

_love ya!_

_xoxo_

_k_


	25. Chapter 24

_100 REVIEWS! Holy moly me oh my! Guys, you are all so phenomenal. Everyone who reviews, reads, favorites and follows, each and every one of you are a part of this story and you keep it going! This story is far from over, and I hope you all stick with me!_

_As I promised, here's a shoutout to the 100th reviewer, pandyisdandy! Thank you so much for your support of the story! It means so much to me, and I hope you like this chapter!_

_(If you've reviewed before, check out my ending author's note!)_

_On with the chapter!_

* * *

Ch. 24

"This is the one controlling him?" Derek asked from his almost completely immobile place on the floor. Matt squatted down and observed the fallen Alpha."This kid?"

"Well Derek, not everyone's lucky enough to be a big bad werewolf." Matt replied with snark. "Oh yeah, that's-that's right. I've learned a few things lately. Werewolves, hunters, kanimas; it's like a fucking Halloween party every full moon." Matt's eyes darted to Stiles and Lennon. "Except for you two. What do you guys turn into?"

"Fairy princess." Lennon deadpanned as Stiles nodded. "I sprout glitter wings and pointy ears."

'Abominable snowman." Stiles supplied, shrugging. "But uh, it's more of, like a wintertime thing, you know? Seasonal."

Matt walked forward, smiling at them, then raised his hand and brought the butt of the gun down, smacking it against Lennon's head as Jackson crept behind Stiles, scratching the back of his neck and injecting him with the paralyzing serum.

"You bitch." Stiles whimpered as he fell, landing on top of Derek. Lennon's body crumpled at Matt's feet, a bit of blood seeping from her head. Scott moved forward to check for a pulse, but Jackson stepped in front of him, slowly waving a finger in his face to say not to make a single move.

"Get him off of me." Derek demanded.

"Oh, I don't know, Derek." Matt bent over their bodies. "I think you two make a pretty good pair. It must kind of suck though, to have all that power taken away from you with just a little cut to the back of the neck. I bet you're not used to feeling this helpless."

"Still got some teeth." Derek informed him. "Why don't you get down here a little closer, huh? We'll see how helpless I am."

"Yeah, bitch." Stiles cried. Another pouring of headlights waved through the room and Matt grinned at Scott.

"Is that her?" he asked. "Do what I tell you to, and I won't hurt her." Matt promised. "I won't even let Jackson near her."

"Scott, don't trust him!" Stiles yelled. Matt reached down and grabbed the back of Stiles' shirt and pulled him from Derek, onto the floor. He turned Stiles over and stepped on his throat, letting the weight of his body shift slowly to it.

"This work better for ya?" Stiles began gagging and choking, his face turning red.

"Hey!" Scott yelled. "Stop it!"

"Then do what I tell you to." Matt threatened.

"Okay," Scott agreed. "All right. . .Stop!" Matt glared at Scott, but removed his foot. Stiles coughed as air flooded his lungs once more, and tears ran down his face.

"You," Matt looked at Jackson. "Take them in there. You, with me." he nodded to Scott. Jackson moved and grabbed Lennon's ankle, and dragged her into the next room, then returned, grabbing both Stiles' and Derek's ankles as well, laying them next to her. He moved to the doorway and stood there, keeping one foot in the room and one out in the hall, glancing back at them every few moments, making sure that they stayed in place when gunshots rang out, and Stiles' dad yelled for Scott and Matt.

Stiles rolled his eyes to the right side and tried to see Lennon. She still seemed to be unconscious, but she was still breathing. He cursed under his breath. Stiles sighed and glanced at Derek.

"Hey," he whispered. "Do you know what's happening to Matt?"

"I know the book's not going to help him." Derek replied.

"What?"

"You can't break the rules, not like this." Derek explained.

"What do you mean?" Stiles asked.

"The universe balances things out." Derek told him. "Always does."

"Is it because he's using Jackson to kill people who don't deserve it?"

"And killing people himself." Derek added.

"So if Matt breaks the rules of the kanima, he becomes the kanima?" Stiles put together.

"Balance." Derek affirmed.

"Will he believe us if we tell him that?" Stiles asked.

"Not likely." Derek answered.

"Okay, he's gonna kill all of us when he gets that book, isn't he?"

"Yep." Stiles let out a long, aggravated sigh.

"Alright, so what do we do? Do we just-do we just sit here and wait to die?"

"Unless we can wake up your friend, or figure out a way push the toxin out of my body faster." Derek grumbled. "Like, triggering the healing process." Derek took a deep breath and the sound of skin puncturing met Stiles' ears.

"Wha-oh what are you doing?" he asked. "Aw, gross." Stiles averted his eyes from Derek, who was digging his claws into his own thigh, and looked over to Lennon. He noticed the drying patch of blood on her head and groaned. "Shit. So is that hypothetical situation we talked about getting any less hypothetical?"

"I think so." Derek answered. "I can move my toes." Stiles sighed disappointedly.

"Dude, I can move my toes." he informed him. Suddenly, the power cut off, and the emergency lights came on. Loud, sharp sirens sounded through the building, and Lennon twitched.

"Len-Lennon!" Stiles yelled. "Lennon come on, wake up!" he shouted over the sirens as rapid gunfire shot through the building. Derek was starting to move his upper body and Lennon's fingers stretched out as she raised her head.

"St-Stiles?"

"Yeah, yeah it's me." he grinned. "Listen, you gotta get up and get out of here." Lennon rubbed a hand over her face, then winced and reached up, gingerly touching the wound on the top of her head.

"What happened to you guys?" she asked as she looked over to them.

"Paralyzed." Derek grunted as he tried sitting up, only managing to roll over to his side a bit. "You need to go."

"I'm not leaving you guys defenseless." Lennon insisted. Derek scoffed.

"You're not much of a defense against a kanima or a gun-wielding psycho."

"At least I'm not paralyzed, asshole." Lennon spat. She struggled slowly to her knees as smoke began sifting into the room. "Shit, did he set the place on fire?"

"No, I think the Argents are here." Derek said. "Take Stiles and go!"

"I don't think I can carry him." Lennon shook her head, instantly regretting the movement as the room tilted in front of her. Suddenly someone rushed in, and Lennon saw Scott. He leaned down between Lennon and Stiles.

"Take him!" Derek commanded. "Go!" Scott lifted up Stiles, tossing his arm over his shoulders and helping Lennon up with the other.

"You go, I'll stay with Derek."

"I'm fine, go!"

"You're still on the ground flopping like a fish, you're not fine." Lennon told him, raising her voice to him. "You guys go." Scott didn't hesitate to drag Stiles from the room.

"What are you going to do if Matt or Jackson come in here?" Derek asked, rolling into an army crawl position. Lennon shrugged.

"I don't know, but I've been the test reader for one too many military films. No man gets left behind. Besides, they'd be too busy maiming and killing me to notice you getting stronger." Derek scoffed and Lennon grabbed at her bag strap. She gasped, an idea suddenly popping into her head. She flipped open the satchel and gripped the handle to the Chinese ring dagger Allison had given her. "I have this." Derek looked up as she twirled the knife and clutched it in her hand, a move Allison had taught her a few days prior.

Derek was up on his knees now, and Lennon had risen to her feet, glancing anxiously between the doorway and the Alpha. Derek grabbed onto the back of a chair, and raised himself up.

"Move, Lennon." he said gruffly. Lennon looked back at him. He turned and his eyes were glowing red, his face transfigured into the werewolf side of him. Lennon moved from the door and Derek shot up, taking off outside. "Find Scott and Stiles! Stay with them." Lennon nodded and took off down the hall, in the opposite direction. She clutched the dagger in her hand and followed the path of broken doors, finally reaching an office where the door was wide open, and there was no sign of Stiles or Scott.

"God dammit." Lennon groaned. She turned and bolted back down the hallway, heading towards the cellblocks. She saw the bottoms of Stiles' sneakers going around the corner. "Oh god please don't be dead and being dragged down the hall for dramatic purposes." she inched down the hall and followed, hearing grunts and groans of pain get louder. She turned the corner and saw Stiles still on the ground, reaching towards his dad, who was trying to pull free of the handcuffs as Melissa rooted him on. Lennon could see the hurt on Stiles' face as he watched his father struggle.

Paul gave a final yell and pulled the entire cuff from the wall, ambling back from the wall with the force he used. Lennon was going to move forward but a force slammed into her back and she fell to the ground next to Stiles. Matt ran past her and up to Paul, giving him a hard hit to the face. Paul fell to the ground and was out cold. Lennon watched as Stiles choked a bit, reaching for his father from so far away.

"Matt, Matt please, listen to me." Melissa begged. "My son has been shot, and I've heard other gunfire and I don't know what's happening, but can you please just let me see my son?" Lennon moved to get back up to her feet, but a large hand rested on her back. She turned and saw Derek next to her, watching Matt closely.

"Stay here. Stay down." he instructed. He moved forward and streaked like a bolt of lightening to the door across the way.

"How totally clueless are you people?" Matt mocked. Derek let out a growl and Matt turned. Lennon heard hissing behind her and dropped her head, playing dead and the small ticking of claws passed by her and Stiles. She glanced up as the kanima stood upright. It let out a growl and Derek ran at it, the kanima springing into action and meeting him in the middle. Matt took off and Lennon grabbed the back of Stiles' shirt, pulling him back so they wouldn't get caught in the fray.

After a few moments, the scuffling stopped, and Scott came rushing towards Lennon and Stiles.

"Stiles, can you move?"

"Just barely." Stiles answered, pushing himself up. Lennon grabbed an arm and put it around her shoulders, helping lift him to his feet. "We gotta get my dad."

"I got him." Derek said, holding up Paul's unconscious body. "He's just knocked out, Stiles, he'll be fine."

"Stiles, where are the spare cell keys?" Scott asked. Stiles told him, and Scott rushed off to grab them and unlock the cell. "You guys go ahead, go home."

"Are you sure?" Stiles called after him.

"Yeah, go!" Stiles, reach into your dad's pocket and get the car key.s" Lennon told him. She moved with Stiles towards the elder Stilinski and Stiles reached into his pocky, taking out the truck keys. Derek carried Paul out and Lennon and Stiles followed behind. Lennon drove the truck back to the Stilinski's and parked, and Derek pulled in with his car, going to lift Paul from the backseat.

"Just put him in his room, I guess?" Lennon shrugged, looking to Stiles.

"Yeah. First door upstairs on the right." Stiles walked around the front of the truck slowly, and met with Lennon at the porch after she unlocked the door for Derek.

"He's gonna be okay." she murmured, helping him up the steps to his own bedroom after Derek left, and they shut and locked the door behind him. "I don't know how we're going to explain this to him, but he'll be okay."

"What do you mean we?" Stiles asked curiously, glancing at her as he sat down on his bed. Lennon stuffed her hands in the back pockets of her jeans before walking over and sitting next to Stiles, then reaching over and taking his hand.

"I'm still new to all of this stuff too, maybe it'd help to have someone as sort of clueless as he is?" Stiles shook his head.

"I'm hoping he'll wake up in bed and think it's all a freakish dream." Stiles muttered. Lennon nodded. "I hate this."

"What?" Lennon questioned.

"The feeling of being useless." Stiles explained. "Scott and Derek can do all these really cool and powerful things, and even Allison is a trained weapons expert! How do I compete with that? I'm just human."

"Hey, we're a team, remember?" Lennon gave him a soft smile. "Team Human. And we don't _have_ to compete with them. Or anybody. Stiles, look at all you've helped Scott do. You practically were his sensei when he first got bit. We have limits, yeah, but we're not any less powerful than they are."

"Thanks Lennon." Stiles looked over at her and nodded appreciatively. Lennon smiled and leaned onto his shoulder, but instead of being the sweet moment between friends, Stiles' body fell back from too much weight and they both flopped onto the bed.

"Sorry! Sorry." Lennon laughed. "I guess you haven't totally gotten over your paralyses yet."

"I guess not." Stiles chuckled. Lennon stretched and yawned, then let her arms flop down to her sides, closing her eyes.

"Hey, woah woah, no sleeping for you." Stiles said, sitting up and pulling her up.

"Why?" Lennon frowned. "I'm drained from everything. I wanna sleep, Stiles."

"Because, Matt hit you over the head with a gun, and you blacked out and bled." Stiles explained as if it were obvious. "You could have a concussion. I gotta keep you awake for the next twenty four hours and take you to the hospital first thing in the morning."

"Well then," Lennon looked up at Stiles through her lashes. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Star Wars marathon?"

"Yes sir."

* * *

_Only a few more canon chapters left! I have an idea that's key to my little subplot to stretch out the chapters before I start working on 3A so bear with me. I'm sure you guys will still like it! _

_I felt bad just doing one shout out, so I decided to say thank to all the people who have reviewed since the beginning!_

_Thank you so, so much to: **Liberty Blake, chey1235, blueblackgreen, letsnotbetaken, Isaac fan, moonlight53, DrAnime203, ALO.24.8, LynZann, hannahleep123, asharas, Sarah Lahey, XxXBeautifulXxXDreamerXxX, Atlantean-Child, , superherofan95, Rowan, DontHoldBack09, LisMaknae, joannacamilley, allycat413fishie, Phoebe Nixon, tara97, courtney99marie, MakingCookies4All, alyssia, poorxbrokexcollegexkid, TameTheGhosts, Rebecca2810, GraffitiX, LastOfTheDragons, Dr Pantalons, and all of the unnamed Guests!**_

_Thank you guys so, so so much! You keep up the great reviews, I'll keep up writing the (hopefully) great chapters!_

_xoxo_

_kate_


	26. Chapter 25

Ch. 25

"I think I'm going to go to L.A." Lennon murmured. They were in Stiles' jeep, on their way to school. They had went to the hospital the other morning and Melissa had gotten there just as they had, and looked reasonably shaken, but agreed to look over Lennon's injury, sighting there wasn't any cause for concern, Matt only broke the skin. After an x-ray and cleanup, Melissa let them go. Stiles made an excuse to stay with her all day that day, claiming he had to keep an eye on her in case something went wrong. He even went as far to demand he drive her to school on all week and so there they were on Thursday morning.

"What, like for the weekend?" Stiles asked. Lennon shook her head.

"A while." she said. "Maybe a month or so for the summer. I just think I need to get away from werewolves and lizards for a while."

"I hear ya." Stiles nodded. Lennon over a him and gave him a weak smile.

"You should come with me." she suggested. "You could use the vacation."

"Eh, maybe." Stiles shrugged. "I wouldn't want to put your dad out, you know?"

"Please, my dad would only be home the first day I'm there, if that. He's got two television shows and a film being produced right now. Plus, his place has like, six guest rooms. He probably wouldn't even realize you're there."

"I'll think about it." Stiles smiled over at her. They pulled into the parking lot of the school and found a space close to the entrance. Stiles got out and reached back in, grabbing his lacrosse stick and walking with the girl to the doors. They were headed to their lockers when the speakers crackled a bit.

"Stiles Stilinski to the counselor's office. Stiles Stilinski to the counselor's office, please." and hung up. Lennon shared a look with Stiles and he left her side. Lennon twisted the dial on her locker and opened the door, placing her bag inside and grabbing the books and notes she needed.

"Lennon," she looked up to see Isaac standing next to her, his face solemn. Her eyes raked over him quickly, his body language slumped and sad. "Can-Can we talk?"

"Isaac, you're not supposed to be here." Lennon looked around at the other students milling about, and grabbed his shoulder, turning him in towards the lockers. Isaac just stared at her. She grabbed her bag and shut her locker door, and followed Isaac down the hall, to a secluded corner, hidden away from the crowd of sleepy and tired students. "So, what's up?"

"I uh, I heard what you did for Derek the other night." Isaac began softly, his eyes down on the floor. "And I wanted to let you know he appreciates it, even if he doesn't show it." Lennon just shrugged.

"It's what anyone would've done." she replied. Isaac nodded and there was a heavy, awkward silence between them, something lingering in the air around the two. "Is there anything else?"

"Something is shifting." Isaac told her. "We don't know what it is, but we can feel it. Something isn't right."

"You mean people turning into wolves and lizards is right?" Lennon scoffed. Isaac chuckled a bit, then shook it off and regained his composure.

"Erica, Boyd and I are thinking about leaving." he continued softly. "So far, Derek hasn't been the best Alpha. There's got to be more of us somewhere. We could join another pack."

"If you desert Derek, wouldn't that make you Omegas?" Lennon furrowed her eyebrows. "Isaac, that's pretty much asking to be killed and made into a rug."

"I don't know for sure if I'm leaving." Isaac informed her, looking up at her through his lashes. Lennon instantly knew what he meant and bit her lip.

"Isaac, I don't know." she told him. "You claim to still love me, but you're never around. And when you came back you were so awful. A-And I'm not sure what my feelings are anymore. . ." Isaac nodded.

"Stiles." he murmured. Lennon clutched her books to her chest tightly and looked down at her shoes, suddenly enamored at how the brown leather of her boots shone in the fluorescent lighting. "Are you-are you two. . .?"

"No." Lennon shook her head. "I loved you, Isaac. Really, I did. And I don't know if I still do after everything. Just because Erica cleared everything up doesn't erase the pain I felt when I saw you two together all the time. I really missed you, I still do. But I don't know if I can play second fiddle to your pack."

"I understand." he nodded. Isaac stepped forward and leaned in, speaking in a hushed voice. "If I don't see you before we decide, I'll miss you, Lennon. And I still love you." Lennon's hazel-green eyes met Isaac's icy blues and she wanted to rush to close the space between them, to kiss him and have that kiss be the one that made him stay. To feel his arms wrap around her tightly and bask in the reassuring warmth that he always emitted. But that wasn't her place, not anymore. Even though he was fishing for her to be the reason that he stayed, it wasn't her decision to make.

"Stay safe, Isaac." she murmured back after sneaking a deep breath. She hopped up onto her tiptoes and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek, and quickly walked away, towards homeroom.

* * *

"You know when you're drowning, you don't actually inhale until right before you black out. It's called voluntary apnea." Stiles said, focusing on re-netting his lacrosse stick. Ms. Morell had called him into her office to talk to him about Matt, who drowned in the river the previous night. She was trying to pull her usual psychotherapy bullshit, trying to get him to open up any feelings he had about the loss of his teammate. "It's like no matter how much you're freaking out, the instinct to not let any water in is so strong, that you won't open your mouth until you feel like your head's exploding. But when you finally do let it in, that's when it stops hurting. It's not scary anymore. . .It's actually kind of peaceful."

"Are you saying that you hope Matt felt some peace in his last moments?" Ms. Morell asked.

"I don't feel sorry for him." Stiles looked up.

"Can you feel sorry for the nine-year old Matt who drowned?"

"Just because a bunch of dumbasses dragged him into a pool when he couldn't swim doesn't really give him the right to go off killing them one by one." Stiles snapped. "And by the way, my dad told me they found a bunch of pictures of Allison on Matt's computer. And not just of her though. I mean, he photoshopped himself into them. Stuff like them holding hands and kissing. You know, like he had built this whole fake relationship. So yeah, maybe drowning when he was nine years old is what sent him off the rails, but the dude was definitely riding the crazy train." Ms. Morell took the comments Stiles was making in stride, taking a deep breath and clearing her throat.

"One positive thing came out of this, though. Right?"

"Yeah." Stiles nodded, knowing she was referring to his dad getting his job back. "Yeah, but I still feel like there's something wrong between us. I don't know. It's just like tension when we talk. Same with Scott."

"Have you talked to him since that night?"

"No, not really." Stiles shook his head, going back to re-netting his lacrosse stick. "I mean, he's got his own problems to deal with, though. I don't think he's talked to Allison either. But that might be more her choice, you know? Her mom dying hit her pretty hard. But I guess it brought her and her dad closer." Stiles paused and looked up, and Ms. Morell nodded to him to go on.

"Lennon is up and down a lot. She's trying to balance her feelings about Isaac while helping take care of her brother while her mom is pregnant. She's been really brave, lately." Stiles nodded. "She's definitely one of the best people I know. She deserves more."

"Why do you think that?"

"I just do." Stiles shrugged. "She deserves to be loved and not have Isaac playing with her mind and her heart all the time. She should have stability."

"And do you think you could provide her with that?" Ms. Morell asked, giving Stiles a look. Stiles' face flushed.

"I don't know. Maybe." he answered. "Anyway, Jackson. Jackson hasn't really been himself lately. Actually, the funny thing is, as of right now, Lydia is the one who seems the most normal." Stiles leaned down, using his teeth to pull harder at the rope on his net, trying to tighten the knot.

"And what about you, Stiles? Feeling some anxiety about that championship game tomorrow night?" Stiles looked up with wide eyes.

"Why would you ask me that?" he asked with the rope still between his teeth. Ms. Morell looked down towards the net in Stiles' hands and he looked down, spitting out the rope from his mouth. "Ah, uh no. I-I never actually play. But hey, since one of my teammates is dead and another one's missing, you never know, right?"

"You mean Isaac," Ms. Morell said. "One of the three runaways. You haven't heard from any of them, have you?" Stiles' eyes left hers and went down to the desk, were the counselor's slender, manicured hands were folded.

"How come you're not taking any notes on this?"

"I do my notes after the session." she answered, giving him a soft smile.

"Wow. Your memory's that good?"

"How about we get back to you?" Ms. Morell suggested coolly. "Stiles?"

"I'm fine." Stiles shrugged. "Aside from the not sleeping, the jumpiness, the constant, overwhelming, crushing fear that something terrible's about to happen." Stiles recalled the past few nights, staying up on the phone with Lennon, or just with her in general. One of them would have the other over for the night, and Stiles would end up watching over Lennon as she slept, having been lulled into it by him talking constantly.

"It's called hyper-vigilance, the persistent feeling of being under threat."

"But it's not just a feeling, though." Stiles sat up abruptly. "It's-It's like a panic attack. You know, like I can't even breathe."

"Like you're drowning?" Ms. Morell asked.

"Yeah."

"So if you're drowning, and you're trying to keep your mouth closed until that very last moment, what if you choose not to open your mouth? To not let the water in?"

"Well you do anyway." Stiles shrugged. "It's a reflex."

"But if you hold off until that reflex kicks in, you have more time, right?" the counselor reasoned.

"Not much time."

"But more time to fight your way to the surface."

"I guess." Stiles sighed.

"More time to be rescued."

"More time to be in agonizing pain. And did you forget about the part where you feel like your head's exploding?"

"If it's about survival, isn't a little agony worth it?" Ms. Morell asked. Stiles studied her carefully, biting the inside of his cheek.

"And what if it just gets worse? What if it's agony now, and then-" Stiles shook his head. "And then it's just hell later on?"

"Then think about something Winston Churchill once said: 'If you're going through hell, keep going.'" Stiles locked eyes with Ms. Morell and took in the meaning of her words, applying them to his life. Nodding, he tapped the lacrosse stick on his knee, accepting the advice.

* * *

"Mom, can we talk?" Lennon stood in the doorway of her moms' home office, tugging at the crystals on her necklace. She hated how confused Isaac made her, and there was only one person she could think of to clear her head. Eleanor looked up from her laptop screen and over her non-prescription glasses.

"Sure honey, just let me save this." Lennon nodded and watched as her mom clicked the wireless mouse a few times, then shut her laptop closed. "What's up?"

"Just your a-typical teenage girl boy problems." Lennon chuckled, but the laughter felt odd and heavy instead of lighthearted. Lennon's mom stood up from the desk and walked over to her, taking a deep breath.

"Go change into your pajamas. I'll get the ice cream." Lennon nodded and gave her a smile, turning to go upstairs to her bedroom. She changed into her shorts and tank top and pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail and went back down stairs, walking into the living room and sitting down next to her mom on the couch, grabbing a spoon and taking a scoop of the minty ice cream and sighing, letting the sugar calm her frazzled nerves.

"Okay, spill." Eleanor told her. Lennon took a deep breath and sighed.

"H-How did you know you weren't in love with Dad anymore?" she asked, toying with the frayed end of the quilt her mom had hung over the back of the couch. Her mom slowly thought over the answer as she ate a spoonful of ice cream, staring at the magazines on the coffee table.

"Your father and I loved each other for a really long time," Eleanor began, looking over at her daughter. "It took me a long time to fall _in_ love with him. And when we had you, it was the best thing to happen to either of us. It still is. But as you grew older, I wanted to raise you in a more suburban setting, so we moved a little ways away from Los Angeles. The first novel I wrote, I went back down to L.A. to meet with some publishers, and they had their lawyer present. As you can guess, it was your step-father. And after the meeting, the publishers left, and Kevin and I stayed. We talked for hours, and I fell in love with him, deeper than I had ever fallen for your father."

"So you divorced dad and married him." Lennon nodding, knowing the story.

"No." Eleanor shook her head. "I had a magnificent nine-year old daughter I had to think about. And a life and reputation. So we said good night, and parted ways, only seeing each other at meetings and reviews over the book. I was honest with your father and told him my feelings for Kevin, to which your father told me to see if they were real, and that we would deal with it accordingly. Your father has always been very passive, ever since college.

"So, we invited Kevin to dinner, and your dad saw how happy he made me, and the next month, we signed the divorce papers. I still think your father is trying to move on, with how hard he works."

"You loved someone more than and that's how you knew you didn't love Dad?"

"Lennon, love. . .it isn't black and white." Eleanor sighed, giving her daughter a soft smile. "I still love your father. We have a history that I could never forget, or would want to forget. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have you. But Kevin, it was an instance. We just looked at each other, and I saw warmth, and love and happiness. You don't find that often."

"Mom, I think I still might love Isaac. . ." Lennon announced, tears springing to her eyes as she finally admitted the truth. "But there's so much going on lately I don't think I can be with him."

"Oh sweetheart." Eleanor set the tub of ice cream down and grabbed Lennon pulling her into a comforting embrace only a mother could give. "Listen, sometimes you have to fight through some hard times to make sure a relationship is worth it. Remember what your grandpa used to say? Nothing worthwhile ever comes easy."

Lennon nodded and stayed in her mothers' arms for a while, allowing herself to be rocked back and forth as Eleanor hummed an old lullaby, resting her chin atop of Lennon's head. After a while, she pulled back and looked down at her daughter's face, smiling as she wiped a few stray tears away.

"Go get the Emergency Girl's-Night-In Box. We need Molly Ringwald and Julia Roberts to soothe this pain."

* * *

_Uh oh, Lennon's getting confused about her feelings for Isaac and Stiles. What's going to happen as season 2 comes to a close between the three of them? Whoooo knoooows? I wait, I know! :D _

_Now that my classes have started up again, updates are going to be a bit more spaced out than normal. Schoolwork comes first, unfortunately, and I really need to focus on that before fanfiction. I hope you guys understand. This story isn't stopping, I promise. I'm too invested in it to just give up on it._

_So, you guys are all amazing, I love you, keep the reviews coming! They help me know what you guys like and don't like and sometimes they help influence the story itself ;)_

_reviews are love!_

_xoxo_

_kate_


	27. Chapter 26

Ch. 26

Scott was prepping the examination room at work, trying to keep his mind off of his frazzled mother, who was still getting over the shock of finding out her son was a werewolf. The small, white dog laid on the table, breathing slowly and letting out a small whine every once in a while. Deaton was on the other side of the room with a syringe, taking some medication from a small vial when the door opened, the bells jingling loudly.

"Would you mind seeing who that is?" Deaton asked Scott, concentrating on taking the correct amount of liquid from the bottle. Dogs started barking and whimpering, and both boss and employee stopped, and exchanged a cautious glance. Scott moved forward and went towards the front office. Isaac stood there, his head down and his hands shoved into the front pockets of his dark jeans. Deaton stepped forward.

"It's okay, Isaac." he said, moving towards the young boy and opening the small gate, letting him go back towards the exam room. "We're open." Isaac looked from him to Scott carefully and moved forwards. Scott let him into the room and followed him, moving towards the small dog and placing a comforting hand on it. Deaton grabbed the syringe and Isaac stood at the end of the table, looking down at it and scrunching his face.

"Why does it smell like that?" he asked. Deaton looked up at one another and held back a few chuckles, realizing Derek hadn't been teaching his pack everything.

"Scott said almost the same thing to me a few months ago." he replied. "One day he could somehow tell the difference between which animals were getting better and which were not." All eyes were back on the fluffy dog.

"He's not getting better, is he?" Isaac asked. The dog let out a small whimper as if to answer Isaac itself. Deaton looked up at him and shook his head solemnly. "Like cancer?"

"Osteosarcoma." Deaton answered. "It's got a very distinct scent, doesn't it?" he looked from Isaac to Scott and back again. "Come here." Isaac's eyes went wide and he faltered before moving over towards the veterinarian. "I know you're well aware of what your new abilities can do for you. Improved strength, speed and healing. You ever wonder what it could do for others?"

Isaac looked down towards the dog, then over to Scott, who gave him a short nod of approval. Deaton noticed and held his hand out towards Isaac.

"Give me your hand." he implored softly. Isaac didn't hesitate to raise his left arm, placing his wrist in Deaton's open palm. "Go on." Deaton guided Isaac's hand towards the dog's side. Isaac felt the soft fur coat of the animal, the small curls twisting and winding around his fingers as he took in the warmth of its skin. His hand stiffened after a few seconds, a black mass coursing through his veins. The dog visibly relaxed and Isaac slowly dragged his hand down the dogs' side before taking it away completely. He pulled up the arm of his shirt and watched the mass continued through his veins.

"What did I do?" he asked, his throat froggy. Scott gave him a soft smile.

"You took some of his pain away." he answered. Isaac brought his hand up and clutched it to his chest.

"Only a little bit." Deaton explained. "But sometimes a little can make quite a difference." Isaac looked down and wiped his nose on the back of his hand.

"It's okay." Scott murmured. "First time he showed me, I cried too." Isaac looked up at him and sniffled, then broke out into a large grin, chuckling through his tears. The dog let out a lighter whimper this time, moving his paw out towards Scott who took it and gave it a gentle squeeze. Deaton gave the dog the pain medication he needed and Scott scooped him up into his arms, taking him back to the kennel room. When he came back, Isaac was leaned against the exam table, his back to Scott as he cleaned the room up.

"They're leaving tonight." he informed Scott. "During the game." Scott looked over at him.

"So, why are you telling me?" Scott asked, moving around the table to take the tool tray over to the cleaning area.

"I'm not telling you. I'm asking you." Isaac sighed. "I'm asking for your advice." Scott looked back at him puzzled.

"From me? Why?" Isaac looked him over and closed his eyes, as if it almost pained him to admit it.

"Because I trust you." he told him.

"Why?"

"Because you always seem to want to do the right thing." Isaac answered.

"I usually have no idea what I'm doing." Scott admitted, giving a soft laugh and shrug. "Actually, I always have no idea what I'm doing."

"Hmm," Isaac nodded. "Do you want to let me know what you're doing right now?"

"I'm not going anywhere, if that's what you mean." Scott looked over at him. "I have too many people here that need me." Isaac nodded and looked down at his shoes.

"Well, I guess that makes me lucky, 'cause. . ." Isaac shook his head and took a deep breath. "'Cause I don't have anyone, so. . .

"Yeah, you do." Scott nodded. "Lennon." Isaac scoffed and stood up, moving towards the door.

"She doesn't know what she wants." he told Scott.

"Are you gonna go with them, then?"

"Yeah." Isaac nodded. "Yeah, I think I will. Good luck with the game."

"Well thanks, but I'm not-I'm not going either. I can't even think about playing some meaningless game right now." Isaac furrowed his brow.

"You weren't at practice last week, were you?" he asked. Scott shook his head.

"No, I skipped it, why?"

"And you didn't hear?

"Hear what?"

"Jackson was there." Scott moved forward in haste.

"What do you '_there_'? Like he was-"

"Like nothing had happened." Isaac told him.

"Really?" Isaac nodded. "That means-the game tonight?"

"Yeah." Isaac confirmed. "He's playing."

* * *

"You nervous?" Lennon asked Stiles as they walked towards the field together. Stiles nodded, twisting his lacrosse stick in his gloved hands. "Don't be. You're a great player."

"I would be, if I ever got to play." he replied.

"You'll play, Stiles. You're great, and one day you'll get to show it." she assured him, giving him a big smile. "Now, I'll be up in the stands, cheering for you and the rest of the Cyclones. Have a good game, Stilinski." Lennon hopped up onto her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, lingering for a few moments before giving him a smile and heading for the bleachers where his and Scott's parents sat.

Stiles moved towards the team bench as sat down next to Scott. They watched the rival team's bleachers fill up, Stiles' leg shaking nervously.

"Your dad coming?" Scott asked. Stiles nodded.

"Yeah, he's already here." Stiles looked over to Scott.

"You seen Allison?"

"No, you seen Lydia?"

"Not yet."

"You know what's going on?"

"Not yet." Scott repeated, shaking his head a little. Stiles sighed.

"It's going to be bad, isn't it?" he asked. "I mean like, people screaming, running for their lives, blood, killing, maiming kind of bad?" Scott looked over to his best friend solemnly.

"Looks like it." he answered. Stiles nodded and looked back out to the field, watching the rest of his teammates and the opposing team warm up.

"Scott, the other night seeing my dad get hit over the head by Matt, you know, while I'm just lying there and I can't even move, it just-" Stiles drew in a breath and continued. "I want to help, you know, but I can't do the thing that you could do. I can't. . ." Scott looked over to him again and nodded.

"It's okay." he assured him. Stiles looked at him with sadness.

"We're losing, dude." he said. Scott began to reply when Coach Finstock came up behind them.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked in his aggressive voice as he looked at Stiles.. "The game hasn't even started. Now put on your helmet and get out there. You're in for Greenberg."

"What? What happened to Greenberg?" Coach rolled his eyes.

"What happened to Greenberg? He sucks. You suck, slightly less." he explained unabashed. Stiles looked back out to the field and subtly began hyperventilating.

"I'm playing? On the field?" he asked. "With the team?!"

"Yes, unless you'd rather play with yourself." Coach remarked sarcastically.

"I already did that today. Twice." Stiles replied in all seriousness, looking from Scott back to Coach. Scott started laughing and Coach pushed Stiles from the bench.'

"Just get the hell out there!" Stiles grabbed his helmet and stick and flailed out onto the field.

* * *

"Oh no." Sheriff Stilinski mumbled. Melissa and Lennon looked to him. "What is my son running out onto the field?"

"Because he's on the team?" Melissa supplied. A look of realization crossed Paul's face and Lennon leaned forward, looking around him at Melissa, both of them laughing to themselves.

"He is."

"Mm-hmm." Melissa nodded.

"He's on the team. He-He's on the field." suddenly, Paul stood up, raising a triumphant fist into the air. "MY SON IS ON THE FIELD!" Lennon began laughing out loud and Melissa just stared at Paul until he sat down again. A few moments later, Lydia approached, sitting next to Melissa, giving them a smile and rubbing her palms on the thighs of her jeans anxiously.

"Hi Lyd!" Lennon grinned at her. "Glad you could make it."

"Well, it _is_ the championship." Lydia smiled back. They turned back to the field as the whistle blew and the game began. Stiles immediately got the ball and the home team bleachers cheered, until all he did was stand there, staring at the ball in his net in amazement and was hit by the other team.

"He's probably just warming up." Melissa suggested, clasping her hands together and resting her chin on them.

"Yeah,"

"He's just a little nervous." Lydia nodded supportively. "Plenty of time to turn it around."

"Yeah, he just has to get into the rhythm." Lennon agreed.

Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way quick enough. The crowd began booing Stiles and Paul hid his face in his hands. Lennon gave him a few, short pats on the back and grimaced as the whistle blew.

* * *

Scott jumped up as the whistle blew, but Coach was quick to put a hand on his shoulder and push him back down.

"Sit down, McCall!" Finstock ordered gruffly.

"But Coach, we're dying out there!"

"Oh, I'm aware of that. Now sit." Scott hung his head and groaned to himself, the looked out to the field anxiously. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of red next to him on the bench and looked over to see Isaac sitting on the bench. Scott stared at him in awe.

"You came to help."

"I cam to win." Isaac grinned at him. His eyes shot towards the stands were Lennon was sat then out to the field. He then looked back at the stands, farther down the rows and to where Gerard stood. Scott turned his head too and they glared at the elder, who stared back curiously.

"You got a plan yet?" Isaac asked under his breath as they looked back out at the field.

"No. Right now it's pretty much keep Jackson from killing anyone."

"Well that might be easier if you're actually in the game." Isaac mentioned. "You have to make it so Coach has no other choice but to play you." Scott sighed and looked over to Isaac.

"How do we do that? He's got a bench full of guys he can use before he ever puts me on the field." They looked down to the other bench, where three other players were wincing as the game spiraled downward even farther. Scott looked back over to Isaac and knew what the look he gave him meant.

"Can you do it without putting anyone in the hospital?" Scott asked. Isaac gave him a serious nod, and let out a breath he hadn't realized he held in.

"I can try." He put on his helmet and jumped up from the bench.

"Lennon, who's number fourteen?" Paul asked, leaning over to the young girl. "Melissa can't tell the name."

"What number?" Lennon looked up from her texting her mom about the game to relay to Jude.

"Fourteen." Lennon felt her chest tighten as her eyes locked onto the player.

"Um, that-that's Isaac." she murmured. Paul nodded and focused back on the game. She couldn't take her eyes off of him, and as if he could feel it, he glanced up at her. Lennon straightened her shoulders and gave him a small smile of encouragement before the whistle blew again and the game continued. Within seconds of the play, Isaac had rushed forward, knocking one of his own teammates down.

"Lahey!" Coach Finstock screeched from the sidelines. A few moments later, number four ran out onto the field as his injured teammate was taken out. The whistle blew and again, Isaac took down another teammate.

"Sweetie, I hate to say it, but your ex seems to lack the general knowledge of the game." Paul muttered.

"I don't know what's gotten into him. . ." she replied as Isaac ran down the field. Suddenly another player shot after him, knocking him down to the ground. She involuntarily brought her hands to her mouth, covering up the concerned gasp as she saw Jackson's number standing over Isaac. Scott rushed out to the field and knelt down next to the boy as Jackson walked away coolly and the medics brought a stretcher.

* * *

"It's not broken." Isaac told Scott. "But I can't move it. I think Jackson nicked me 'cause I can feel it spreading." the medics lifted Isaac's body onto the stretcher.

'You want to play chess Scott?" Gerard's voice floated menacingly into Scott's mind. "Then you'd better be willing to sacrifice your own pawns." Before Scott could retaliate, Coach Finstock came over, thrusting his helmet into his hands.

"McCall. Either you're in or we forfeit." he grumbled. He then handed him the lacrosse stick and ambled back to the bench. Melissa ran out to the field and stopped her son quickly.

"Something's going on, isn't it?" she asked. "Something more than a lacrosse game?"

"You should go." Scott told her. Melissa shook her head.

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere." she responded. She looked her son in the eyes, her strong determination shining, making Scott feel stronger. "And everything that I said before, forget it. Okay? If you can do something to help, do it. You have to."

"I will." Scott nodded. Melissa ran back to the stands and took her seat as Scott joined the rest of the team on the field.

* * *

_Ta-da! Here's the latest chapter in the epic story that is Safe & Sound! I'd like to make a small announcement that I'm moving all updates to Friday evenings. I'm just way too busy during the week to worry about updating a few times, so Fridays, most likely around 7-8 est. So they'll still (hopefully) be regular, just once a week. I hope you all understand!_

_Some of you have been really involved in the shipping of this story and it's honestly the greatest emails to receive. I don't have a ship name for Stiles/Lennon! Liles? Stennon? (kinda feeling Stennon, it sounds badass) I don't have one for Isaac/Lennon either! You guys are hilarious, and I'd love to see if you can come up with more!_

_I'm off to do BIO homework and cry! Love you all!_

_Don't forget to review!_

_xoxo_

_kate_


	28. Chapter 27

Ch. 27

Lennon chewed on the cuff of her hoodie sleeve, watching the seconds tick down on the clock. Stiles was rushing the net, his terrified yelps just barely audible in the hum of the crowd. People were crouched in their seats, ready to get up and cheer in victory or walk away in defeat. The entire opposing team was running after Stiles, Paul watching between his fingers, muttering "Oh crap," over and over. Suddenly, Stiles stopped right in front of the goal, looking back at the oncoming horde.

"Stilinski!" Coach screamed. "Shoot it! Shoot the ball. Shoot it you idiot!"

"Shoot it!" Lydia chimed in. Stiles came back into reality and turned towards the net, shooting the ball. It hit the net and the Beacon Hills bleachers erupted with cheers and screams. Paul's eyes were gleaming with pride as he watched his son get rushed by his teammates, all of the patting him on the back or giving him a small knock on the helmet before running back to their positions. Stiles finally got into the game, and began scoring more, catching the points up.

Finally, they only needed two more points. The play began and Lennon tapped her foot anxiously, sitting on the edge of the cold metal seat. Stiles ran up to the net, and shot the ball. The entire field was silent, and it felt like hours until the whistle blew, and the call was good. Lennon jumped up, screaming, hugging Paul, who was celebrating the fact that his son not only played, but shot the winning goal as well.

Just as they were about to run down to the field, the lights went out. There was a blood-curdling scream and after a few moments, the lights came back on. People were rushing around in panic, trying to get back to their cars as the Beacon Hills lacrosse team were standing in a circle around a down player. The coach ran into the huddle, and Jackson's name was being called. Lennon turned and saw Lydia rushing towards the group, and hurried to follow. The redhead burst through the wall of lacrosse players and gasped, seeing Jackson's body laying on the ground.

"Can we get a medic over here?" Coach Finstock yelled. "We're gonna need a medic!" Suddenly Mrs. McCall ran into the fray and quickly kneeled next to Jackson. She lowered her head onto his chest, her trained ear listening for a heartbeat.

"He's not breathing. No pulse." she said, looking up toward Scott and Isaac, who followed her into the group.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing." she shook her head. She reached down and pulled up his jersey, and exposed his under-armor, covered in blood that was spilling from five deep gouges in his torso.

"Oh my god, there's blood." Lydia whimpered. "There's blood. . ." Lennon put a hand on Lydia's upper back, and continued to watch. Melissa looked up to Lydia.

"Get down here." Lennon looked to Lydia and watched her try and regain her composure as she slowly moved forward, but she was taking too much time, as Melissa snapped. "Get down here and hold his head. Tilt it up." she commanded. Lennon felt a hand on her shoulder as she was pulled back partially, and Sheriff Stilinski came in, looking and Jackson's body, then looking around the team of players.

"Stiles? Where's Stiles?" he asked. "Wh-Where's my son?" he continued looking around, repeating the question, getting louder every time. "Where the hell is my son?!"

* * *

"I've got to meet with the medical examiner and try to figure out what happened with Jackson." Paul told Scott, Lennon and Isaac in the locker room. Cops had brought anyone who knew Jackson into the room after the players changed, and Paul took charge of the three teens in front of him. "I've got an APB out on Stiles. His Jeep is still in the parking lot, so that means. . ." Paul's eyes hazily glazed over before he shook his head. "Well I don't know what that means. Um. . .Look, if he answers his phone, if he answers his emails, if any one of you sees him-"

"We'll call you." Isaac said, nodding seriously.

"He's probably just freaked out from all the attention or something." Scott added. "We'll find him."

"It's gonna be okay, Paul." Lennon nodded, giving her best hopeful smile. Paul regarded the three teens with a soft, sad grimace and nodded.

"Yeah. I'll see you, okay?" the three nodded and watched as he turned and left.

"He's not fine." Isaac said, looking away as Coach approached.

"McCall," he said. "We need you on the team, okay? You know I can't put you on the field next season if you don't get your grades up."

"Yeah, I know, Coach." Scott nodded. Lennon leaned back against the lockers, bringing her thumb up to her lips and chewing on the nail nervously. How had she not noticed Stiles was missing? It was Stiles! She should've know there was something wrong when he wasn't there jumping in to help Jackson or saying something about disgraced Japanese warriors and their suicides.

"We'll find him." Lennon looked up to see Isaac watching her closely. Her brows crinkled and she sighed. "I'm not promising he'll be okay, but we'll find him."

"Things are changing, Isaac." Lennon murmured back, as Coach continued talking to Scott. "The power is shifting so fast I don't know what to do. But we've got to get Stiles back. He's too important." Isaac's jaw clenched as Lennon uttered the last sentence, but he steeled himself and nodded as Coach walked away. The locker room began emptying and the three stayed back and watched.

"Is that everybody?" Scott asked. Isaac nodded.

"I think so." he answered. He pushed away from the lockers and looked around the corner briefly before turning back.

"Lennon, move and cover your ears." Scott said. Lennon stepped away from the lockers and put her hands over her ears, looking to Isaac curiously. Scott's hands changed, and he dented Stiles' locker, then pulled the protruding metal off it's hinges, tossing the door on the floor. Lennon brought her hands down and stared at Scott.

"I'm not sure if I'm going to ever get used to this. . ." she mumbled as Scott pulled out Stiles' black and white checkered shirt.

"You're gonna find him by scent?" Isaac asked.

"Yeah, we both are." Scott nodded, handing Isaac something. Isaac looked down and frowned a bit.

"But how come you get his shirt and I get a shoe?" he asked, motioning to the objects in question.

"Guys?" Lennon asked, her back to them. They looked over and stopped when they saw Derek standing before them, his arms behind his back as if he were patiently waiting for their conversation to end.

"We need to talk." he spoke, once all eyes were on him. Behind him, an older, blonde male emerged. Lennon felt the air go tense in the room and shifted uncomfortably on her feet.

"All of us." he chimed, giving them a sly smile.

"Holy shit." Scott said under his breath.

* * *

Stiles stared at Erica and Boyd, who were staring right back, the only thing they could do. Their hands were tied above their heads and thick strips of black tape over their mouths. He quickly moved over to them and Erica started whimpering, and Boyd was making gruff sounds and Stiles tried to shush them, reaching up for Erica's restraints to try and free her. As soon as his fingers made contact with the rope, he drew them back, gasping in pain from a nasty shock.

"They were trying to warn you," a voice spoke as someone descended the stairs. "It's electrified." Gerard came into view and Stiles' blood boiled.

"What are you doing with them?" he demanded, glaring at the old man. Gerard leaned against the cinderblock wall of the basement, looking thoughtfully at the two werewolves, as if he were merely gazing over a restaurant menu.

"At the moment, just keeping them comfortable." he answered. "There's no point in torturing them, they won't give Derek instinct to protect their Alpha is too strong."

"Okay." Stiles said, staring at Gerard wide-eyed, not knowing how to respond to a man acting so nonchalant while two teens were strung up in front him. "So what are you doing with me? Because Scott can find me, alright? He knows my scent. It's pungent, you know? I-It's more like a stench. He could find me even if I was buried at the bottom of a sewer covered in fecal matter and urine." Gerard regarded Stiles bemusedly.

"You do have a knack for creating a vivid picture, Mr. Stilinski. Let me paint you one of my own." Gerard pushed off from the wall, walking forward, towards Stiles as he spoke. "Scott McCall finds his best friend bloodied and beaten to a pulp. How does that sound?" Stiles visibly faltered and gulped.

"I think I might prefer more of a still life landscape, you know?" Gerard's jaw tightened as he glared at the young man before him. "What-What are you, ninety? Look, I can probably kick your ass up and down this room a-" Stiles was cut off by Gerard's hand connecting with his face forcefully. So forcefully, his body turned as he fell to the ground, landing on his front. Gerard leaned down and grabbed him, turning him over and clutching the front of Stiles' jersey.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Gerard landed a punch to Stiles' jaw, continuing to lay into him, punching him repeatedly as Boyd and Erica were forced to watch and listen until Stiles blacked out.

* * *

"What the hell is this?!" Scott demanded, moving forward slightly and pulling Lennon back, putting her between him and Isaac.

"You know, I thought the same thing when I saw you talking to Gerard at the Sheriff's station." Lennon and Isaac both snapped their heads towards Scott at Derek's accusation.

"Okay, hold on, he threatened to kill my mom. And I had to get close to him. What was I supposed to do?"

"I'm gonna go with Scott on this one." the blonde said, giving a small shrug. "Have you seen his mom?" Lennon furrowed her brows and looked at the man incredulously. "She's gorgeous." Derek looked behind him and glared at the man.

"Shut up." he and Scott said at the same time.

"Who is he?" Isaac asked, leaning towards Scott, his chest resting on Lennon's shoulder in the small space.

"He's Peter, Derek's uncle." Scott answered. "Little while back, he tried to kill us all. And then we set him on fire and Derek slashed his throat."

"Hi." Peter raised a hand in hello, looking from Isaac to Lennon. Isaac brought himself back to his space, but stayed close to Lennon, resting a hand on the small of her back protectively.

"That's good to know."

"How is he alive?" Scott asked.

"Look, the short version is he knows how to stop Jackson." Derek skirted the question. "And maybe how to save him." Scott looked over to Isaac and they conferred with their eyes, having a quick and silent conversation.

"Well, that's very helpful except Jackson's dead." Isaac informed them.

"What?" Derek asked, he and Peter both shocked.

"Jackson's dead. It just happened on the field." Scott explained. Derek looked back to Peter, who looked dejectedly towards the dirty tile flooring.

"Okay, why is no one taking this as good news?" Isaac asked. Lennon looked back at him nudging his ribcage with her elbow. He grimaced and looked down at her briefly as Peter spoke.

"Because if Jackson is dead, it didn't just happen." he told them. "Gerard wanted it to happen."

"But why?" Derek asked, turning slightly and looking back as Peter walked forward.

"Well, that's exactly what we need to figure out." he said. "And something tells me the window of opportunity is closing. Quickly."

* * *

_"Every Friday is a new update!" she said. "It'll be great!" she said. Then school and work and life got into the way and there wasn't an update for like a month so now she's says I'M SORRY OH GOD I'M SO SORRY! This took way longer than expected, just because of the sheer amount of essays and research I have to do every night for my classes. Who said school could get in the way of my writing? Sheesh!_

_Anyway, i love all of you, i'm so sorry this took so long, and I hope yall are still reading, and as usual, i love, love LOVE reviews!_

_i'll update again soon! i've got some free time this weekend so I should be able to write out a few chapters and get some in the log for you guys!_

_Hope you all are still up for some Teen Wolf fun!_

_xoxo_

_k_


	29. Chapter 28

Ch. 28

Lennon looked over to the seat next to her. Stiles had his earphones in and had a bored expression on his face, watching the cheesy romantic comedy on the screen in front of him. The past seventy-two hours had been long, arduous and tiring, but Stiles had gotten the brunt of it. He'd told Lydia to her face how he felt about her, and she still chose Jackson when it came down to it.

There was a climactic fight towards the end of that night, ended with Scott winning the upper-hand, having switched out Gerard's pills in the Sheriff's Station with fake ones filled with Mountain Ash, and Gerard getting sicker. Once all was said and done, Lennon and Stiles went home, both silently wondering if their friendships were worth it. Lennon had finished getting ready for bed and was about to turn out her lights when there was a knock on her window.

_"Stiles?" she asked as she pushed up the window. "Stiles this is the second story, how did you get up here?"_

_"I have a lot of adrenaline right now." he answered, setting foot inside of her bedroom. "I'm going with you."_

_"To bed?" Lennon furrowed her eyebrows confusedly. _

_"No, to Los Angeles. I need to get away from here for a while." he told her. Lennon shook her head._

_"You should talk to your dad first."_

_"He'll be fine. Lennon, let me go with you." Stiles asked adamantly. Lennon walked over and placed her hands on Stiles' shoulders, looking him in the eyes._

_"Stiles, go back home. Go to bed. We'll talk about this in the morning." Stiles shook his head this time._

_"I-I don't want to be alone right now." Lennon studied his face and then took her hands from her shoulders, walked over to her bed, and pulled back the comforter and sheets, gesturing for him to get in. Stiles laid down and Lennon flipped of the lights, sliding in next to him. As they settled in the dark, Lennon tugged the duvet up to her chin and turned on her side, her back to Stiles. _

The next morning, after a few, lengthy conversations, including a lecture from Kevin after he found Lennon and Stiles in bed that morning, they were packing for Los Angeles.

"You're staring." Stiles murmured, pulling his earphone out and looking over to Lennon, giving her a tired smile.

"I know." Lennon replied. "Why don't you try to sleep?"

"Because this flight is only an hour and a half." Stiles shrugged. "So what are we going to get up to in the City of Angels?"

"Well, we're going to go to my dad's place and unpack, then get something to eat." Lennon told him. "Maybe go see a movie at the Grove."

"Sounds glamourous." Stiles nodded. They continued to talk about L.A. and the plane ride went by even faster. After leaving the plane, they walked through security and to baggage claim, taking back their belongings. They walked to the pick-up area, and Lennon scanned the row of cars before grinning and rushing over to an older gentleman.

"Alfonse!" she squeaked, hugging him.

"Miss McIntyre, it's lovely to see you again." the man patted her back and pulled away, looking her up and down. "You've grown since the summer."

"It must be all that fresh air up north." Lennon grinned. She turned around gestured to Stiles. "Alfonse, this is my friend Stiles. Stiles this is my friend and my dad's chauffeur, Alfonse."

"It's nice to meet you sir." Stiles shook Alfonse's hand.

"Your father is waiting for you at home, shall we go?" Stiles helped Alfonse with the luggage and slid into the back of the town car with Lennon while Alfonse got into the drivers seat, pulling away from the airport curb. Lennon pointed out a few landmarks from growing up and told Stiles a few more stories until they got to the gates of Mr. McIntyre's estate.

"L-Lennon. . .you live here?"

"Every other holiday and one month during the summer, yes." Lennon smiled. "C'mon." she got out of the car and walked up the stairs to the large front doors, taking Stiles' hand in hers and pulling him along.

"Shouldn't we get our luggage?" Stiles asked.

"Nah, that's what the butler is for. If we don't see my dad first thing he'll have my head." Lennon explained. She opened up the doors and stepped in, tugging Stiles into the foyer and letting him look around.

"Wow. . ." his mouth was agape as he took in the ornate chandelier above their heads, the sunlight that streamed through the windows above the door casting miniature rainbows on the marble flooring.

"Come on, let's go find my dad." Lennon moved forward, leading Stiles down the hallway, away from a pristine living room, spotless kitchen and the formal dining room. After turning down another hall, Lennon knocked on the third door on the right, and waited for a second.

"Come in." a deep voice called. Lennon twisted the doorknob in her hand and thrust the door open.

"Hi Dad!" she grinned.

"Lennon!" the tall, slender man stood up from behind his dark wood desk, throwing his arms open and embracing his daughter. After a few moments, the man's eyes opened and wandered over to Stiles, who gave him a sheepish smile and a wave.

"Isaac, I presume?" Mr. McIntyre let go of his daughter and stared down Stiles, who gulped under the scrutinizing glare.

"No, Daddy, this is Stiles." Lennon furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "I told you Stiles was coming with me. I'm not with Isaac."

"Nice to meet you, s-sir." Stiles reached out and offered his hand. Mr. McIntyre eyed it carefully before extending his own, and clapping their hands together in a firm handshake before his cell phone went off.

"I've got a meeting in an hour. How was traffic on the way here?"

"Armageddon." Lennon answered. Her dad nodded and stuffed his phone into his pocket, moving back behind the desk and stuffing papers and folders into a shiny leather briefcase. "Will you be back for dinner?"

"Probably not. You know how these production meetings go." he answered. "I'm sorry, kiddo. I promise I'll make it up to you."

"Okay."

"You kids behave. It was nice meeting you, Miles."

"Daddy, it's _Stiles_." Mr. McIntyre looked between his daughter and the teenage boy and shook his head, leaving the office muttering to himself.

"What kind of name is Stiles, anyway?"

"I think that was good." Stiles nodded. "I'm fairly certain you dad doesn't hate me."

"He takes a while to warm up to people. I mean, Los Angeles and working in film and television. People are only nice to you so they can get what they want, you know? He's been like that with all my friends." Lennon explained, then shifted gears, getting excited again. "Okay, you wanna see your room?"

"Uh, yeah." Stiles followed Lennon as she bounded out of the room and towards the large staircase in the foyer. She wandered down the hallway at the top of the stairs and stopped at the first door to the left, turning around and looking up at Stiles, who stopped abruptly a few inches away from her.

"Okay, so I may have called ahead and had Murray fix up your room specifically, so it's garishly stereotypical boy, let me know and we can get rid of some things."

"Lennon, let me see the room." Stiles moved and put his hand on top of hers, twisting the knob and opening the door, Lennon shuffling backwards as he walked in. "Woah. . ."

"Is it too much?" Stiles shook his head at the giant, plasma screen TV that was situated on the wall. Underneath sat a pristine Xbox 360, and a plethora of games that would keep any teenage boy occupied for at least three months. The bed was large, covered in a blue duvet and a mound of pillows, a lighter blue quilt folded over the foot of the bed, where his bright red suitcase and faded lacrosse bag sat.

"Lennon, Jesus, do you do this for all your guests?" Stiles asked, looking back at her.

"Just the ones I like." Lennon replied, giving him a smile. "There's one more thing, stay here." Lennon ran out of the room, leaving Stiles alone to look around. He shook his head at the lacrosse poster on the wall by the bed. He was caught off guard by a knocking on the other side of the room, and walked over, finding another door. Opening it, he was greeted with Lennon's grinning face.

"We share a closet!" she told him. "This side is mine," she gestured to the side that already had clothes hanging up, then to the empty side. "And that's yours."

"I never took you to be the girl with a walk-in closet bigger than your garage." Stiles told her.

"Well, the garage is only a few centimeters smaller, really." Lennon shrugged. Stiles squinted his eyes. "I'm kidding you doof! Come on, go get your stuff and we'll unpack."

The two teens grabbed their suitcases and unpacked, playing music from the ipod dock that Lennon plugged into an outlet by her shoe rack. After an hour (it would've been less time had Lennon not made Stiles dance with her to Boogie Shoes and countless other songs) they finished unpacking, and went out in search of sustenance.

"So any chance of running into your L.A. crew?" Stiles asked, hands shoved into his jeans pockets as they walked down the street a few minutes later, in search of a restaurant that Lennon praised for their cheeseburgers. Lennon shrugged and looked up at him.

"There's not much a crew." Lennon told him. "I just never really had any interest in this scene. I mean, I have friends here, but they're not like back home. Here, people want to get to know you for your secrets. What they can hold against you so they can get what they want. It's a lot of negativity and double standards." Stiles looked down at her with a happy, smug smile on his face. "What?"

"You just called Beacon Hills home." Lennon began to smile herself.

"Yeah, I did." she nodded. "It's where the people I love are." Lennon wrapped her arm through Stiles' and pulled herself closer to him as they continued to search for the restaurant.

* * *

Isaac clenched his jaw, his hands curling into fists at his side. He took a few shallow breaths, trying to calm his wolf-like territorial brain. He looked up to Scott and searched the boy's warm brown eyes. He had originally planned on telling Scott that he was going on a mission from Derek, and that he didn't know how long it'd take. But that conversation took a different turn.

"What do you mean Lennon left?" he asked. Scott shrugged, slightly regretting being the bearer of this news after Isaac had mentioned he was going to see her next.

"She and Stiles left for L.A. a few days ago. . ." he replied.

"Stiles?!" Isaac cried. "Stiles? Really?"

"Dude, you saw what happened that night with Jackson. She's being a good friend." Scott rolled his eyes. "And honestly, she's not your girlfriend anymore. You need to let it go."

"No, I know." Isaac nodded. He stepped towards the door, faltered, and turned back. "Scott, with Allison, did you ever get the feeling that there was something stronger than love between you two?" Scott stayed quiet for a few moments, thinking, and then answered.

"Yeah." Scott nodded. "I really think there was. Is that what you felt with Lennon?"

"I still do." Isaac murmured. "Scott, what do I do?"

"Hell if I know, man." Scott shrugged. "If things are meant to be, they're meant to be. It'll all work out in the end."

"That's what I used to think with my dad." Isaac shook his head. "That one day he'd realize what he was doing was wrong and would just stop. And then he beat that idea out of me."

"Isaac, I don't know what you want me to say here." Scott admitted, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Lennon'll be back in a month. Maybe you'll find something on this mission or whatever. It might be good for you."

"Yeah." Isaac nodded in agreement. "I should get going. If something should happen, will you give this to Lennon?" he handed a small, thick folded note to Scott. "I just want her to know. . ." Isaac couldn't finish the sentence.

"I'll give it to her." Scott took the note from Isaac's grasp and clutched it firmly in his palm. "Wherever you're going, be careful. I don't want you getting hurt."

"I have to find Boyd and Erica." Isaac said. "It'll probably require some scrapes and bruises. Nothing I can't handle."

* * *

_Wooo! It's summer! (In the story, at least. . .) Stennon is off on an adventure, and apparently so is Isaac! I hope yall are enjoying the story and ready for things to get interesting! Stennon shippers, get ready for some fun! ;)_

_as per usual, reviews are adored and absolute love! I love to hear from you all!_

_xoxo_

_k_


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